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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nerf_logo.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} It's NERF or nothin'!]]]]
3
4A type of toy that shoots or is made of foam or a foam-like material. Originally developed by Parker Brothers, it started as a 4-inch polyurethane ball, marketed as the "world's first indoor ball." "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people." Eventually, the company switched to Creator/{{Kenner}}, and then to Creator/{{Hasbro}} through the acquisition of the Tonka Corporation. Besides creating NERF balls and blasters, in recent years, NERF has focused on life-like replicas (well, semi-realistic, but you get the point), such as the [[http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/n-strike/shop/details.cfm?guid=940BFD86-6D40-1014-8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4&product_id=22378 Vulcan]], a [[MoreDakka chain gun replica]] which [[MoreDakka shoots automatically]]; the [[http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/n-strike/shop/details.cfm?guid=92F0A1AF-6D40-1014-8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4&product_id=17889 Longshot]], a gun modeled after a [[ColdSniper sniper rifle]] [[note]](later joined by the even more realistic-looking [[http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/shop/details.cfm?guid=95A5406A-19B9-F369-1056-599796F84BA9&product_id=26310&src=endeca Longstrike)]][[/note]], and the [[http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Raider_Rapid_Fire_CS-35 N-Strike Raider CS-35]], which uses a [[{{BFG}} 35-round drum magazine]].
5
6The brand's association for safe play from normally dangerous things means the brand is the TropeNamer for the gaming terms {{Nerf}} and NerfArm. The toys are sometimes used in kids' shows as stand-ins for real guns.
7
8On the Creator/VH1 special ''I Love Toys'', Nerf was ranked the #23 toy out of 100. They've occasionally made special controllers for video games, as well as four games of their own: Nerf Jr. Foam Blaster: Attack of the Kleptons! a Nerf game that has the standard Main/AlienInvasion plotline where the Kleptons (the main antagonist) plan to Main/TakeOverTheWorld by washing out the world's Nerf supply with a washing machine but three kids and their Main/GadgeteerGenius goldfish Mr.Fish prevent that from happening, and it ends with "The End?" implying a Main/CliffHanger, ''VideoGame/NerfNStrike'' (a Wii lightgun shooter game, bundled with the Switch Shot EX-3), ''VideoGame/NerfNStrikeElite'' bundled with a slightly updated version of the aforementioned Switch Shot, and ''Nerf Arena Blast'' (an ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' reskin[[note]]it's similar enough that you can import Unreal and UT maps into it, though making them fully playable requires some minor modifications - Arena Blast's characters are ''slightly'' taller than UT's.[[/note]]). Nerf guns are also used in the live-action tag game ''Roleplay/HumansVsZombies''.
9
10An improved N-Strike ''Elite'' series of blasters now exists, which feature improved plunger mechanisms and lighter streamlined darts, all in blue. A white, pink, and purple variant line of Nerf Blasters, the ''Rebelle'' series, is also in the works and aimed at drawing in female Nerf fans. Another subline, the Zombie Strike series, has a ZombieApocalypse theme and appears to be marketed at the ''Roleplay/HumansVsZombies'' Nerf fandom.
11
12Later, Nerf and Super Soaker finally realized they're under the same brand and joined forces, producing a new range of Super Soakers compatible with Nerf tactical rail accessories. Fun will be had! A toyline of Disc Launchers, the ''Vortex'' line of blasters, have also been released. They're notable for having nearly twice the range of normal darts, though they go slower and can easily curve if the blaster is tilted slightly.
13
14It is sometimes joked that NERF stands for [[FunWithAcronyms Non-Expanding Recreational Foam]], though [[WordOfGod officials from Hasbro have denied this claim.]]
15
16Check out the [[UsefulNotes/NERFBrand Useful Notes]] page for more information on some of the blasters.
17----
18!!The various Nerf toys provide examples of the following tropes:
19
20* AfterTheEnd: the [=DoomLands=] 2169 line's theme is set after a massive [[ColonyDrop asteroid impact]].
21* AwesomeButImpractical: A lot of the accessories, and some of the cooler guns. But they're ''toys'', dammit.
22* {{BFG}} - Specific mention goes to the Longstrike CS-6 (one whole inch longer than the Longshot), the Vulcan EBF-25 (biggest full-auto blaster, with 25-round ammo-belt), and the Unity Power System (the main body of which is advertised as a ''missile launcher''). The Titan rocket launcher (which is part of the Unity Power System) and Big Bad Bow are also pretty sizeable. Later guns use a "Tactical Rails System", which basically means you can mix and match their parts to create even larger guns. Especially prominent in this category is the aforementioned Titan; In addition to already being huge, the Titan ITSELF can function as a Tactical Rail accessory. This can effectively transform any user into the Nerf version of a WalkingArmory. The Rhino-Fire is basically a Vulcan that uses two 25 dart drums in place of a belt.
23** The N-Strike Elite Mega Centurion, an ''anti-materiel rifle'' blaster released in August 2013, surpasses the Longshot and Longstrike with its massive 150-plus cm body length from stock to barrel, its usage of a new kind of Elite Mega Dart, and its long, long plunger draw.
24** The N-Strike Elite Mega Mastodon, a ''revolving automatic'' blaster released in August 2016, surpasses the Vulcan with its ''24 MEGA dart drum'', it's also the first automatic MEGA blaster ever released. Calling it a BFG would be an understatement. Its immense size is comparable to the ''[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} BFG-9000]]''.
25** The N-Strike Doomland The Judge, a revolving pump action shotgun blaster released in August 2017, while slightly smaller than the Mastodon, is still big by Nerf blaster standard. It fires three Nerf darts simultaneously for each shot in a similar fashion to the Sledgefire.
26** The Rival series ball blasters are bigger than their closest dart-firing counterparts, but the absolute largest are the Phantom Corps Hades and Prometheus. The Hades is designed to sit with its stock to your shoulder like some kind of assault cannon, and has a generous 3x20 integrated magazine, while the Prometheus has a massive 200-ball hopper and is one of the largest chainsaw-gripped blasters, comparable to the likes of the Vulcan.
27* BayonetYa: Attaching N-Force weapons to blasters wasn't uncommon for modders. Eventually, the Modulus Close Combat Upgrade Kit includes a rail blade that can be attached to your blaster or used on its own, similar to a hilted bayonet. The Perpetual Play Group's Chainsaw in the Zombie Strike Z.E.D. Squad line takes it to ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' levels as it can be attached to a blaster via a similar rail.
28* {{BFS}}: The N-Force Marauder, a two-handed claymore.
29* BifurcatedWeapon:
30** The Longshot, along with some much older guns, can be split into two smaller guns.
31** Played straight and inverted with the [[http://www.hasbro.com/shop/details.cfm?guid=FE5DCD59-19B9-F369-D980-0443B171DF74&product_id=25715&src=endeca Unity Power System]]. The complete unit consists of the Titan rocket launcher; the Hornet, a six-shot blaster; and the Scout Blaster, with one standard shot. The inversion comes from the Scout Blaster's design: the attachment to the rocket launcher is done via Tactical Rail, allowing almost any other gun in the N-Strike line to attach to the Titan in its place.
32** The ''Strikefire'' Dart Tag blaster has an inverted Tactical Rail socket that lets it mount as a Tactical Rail Accessory. Fancy integrating spare 1-shot blasters above- and below-barrel on your bigger blasters?
33** The Vendetta sword.
34** The Modulus system blaster is designed to have lots of swappable parts, most notably the Strike & Defend Upgrade Kit's stock that has a Jolt-like one-shot blaster built in. The later Tri-Strike has a stock-operated missile launcher which the tactical rail portion can be taken and inserted into the stock itself to make it a standalone blaster.
35** The Splitstrike is two blasters that combine into one. Each can fire two shots, and hooks on the bottom of the grip of one can be used to prime the other.
36** The Rebelle Com-Bow is a bow and a gun that connect to resemble a crossbow. Like the Splitstrike, a catch system allows you to fire from both barrels at once.
37* BoringButPractical: The simplest blasters/attachments are always the best.
38** The Elite Stryfe is regarded as one of the best blasters ever released by Hasbro, and the simplest you can get with a flywheel blaster; it's compact, semi-auto and light enough to be fired one-handed. It also has the ability to mount barrel extensions and stock attachment points. Hasbro has re-released the blaster four times under different series, and also attempted to revive it in the form of spiritual successors such as the Flyte CS-10 (a cheaper alternative) and the Elite 2.0 Pheonix CS-6. [[{{Sequelitis}} Neither have been regarded as improvements]].
39** The Super Soaker Lightningstorm stock, a simple hollow structure that fulfills its intended function perfectly, becoming one of the most sought-after Nerf addons [[KillerApp and one of Worker's best-selling items]].
40* BowAndSwordInAccord: Done by carrying the Big Bad Bow, Blazin' Bow, Heartbreaker Bow, Agent Bow, MEGA Thunderbow, Crossfire Bow, Crossbolt, Guardian Crossbow or Codebreaker Bow with any of the N-Force sword weapons.
41* BreakableWeapons: The mechanism used to shoot these weapons is often quite easy to break:
42** The [[{{BFG}} Centurion]] seems to suffer faults of frequent jamming and even breaking due to its complex internals and the MEGA darts that are loaded can be damaged when these jams occur. This seems to stem from the fact that the breech is pushed forward when the plunger bolt is pulled all the way back, meaning improperly aligned darts (or worse, darts damaged by these jams) can jam when you pull the bolt back.
43** N-Force weapons do have their paint wear down and foam chip off from use (usually by swinging and hitting things). At the worst, striking something too hard can cause the plastic shaft in most swords to break.
44** The Roughcut's internal rack and pinion mechanism is prone to breakage after a lot of use. Fortunately, it's quite easy to fix with [[WeCanRebuildHim metal/3D-printed replacement parts]] and limited modding experience.
45** The new Elite 2.0 Warden is infamous for breaking easily only after a few uses. Sadly, unlike N-Strike Elite, the shells of Elite 2.0 blasters have been solvent-welded, pinned, and clipped together, making repairs and mods extremely difficult if not impossible.
46** Speaking of Elite 2.0, there have been a lot of cost-cutting measures in the series, that make some parts flimsy and prone to breakage. For example, the jam doors on these blasters use plastic divots instead of a metal bar as a hinge, making them easy to break off.
47** Accessories such as bipods and vertical grips are prone to snapping off; the weak attachment to tactical rails is not enough to sustain the full weight of the blaster. Fortunately, there's usually not much permanent damage (aside from added stress to the plastic) but it's something to keep in mind. Don't let a $7 grip be the reason you drop your $40 blaster.
48* BriefcaseBlaster:
49** The Deploy CS-6, which can be folded down to half of its full size, and sprung open again with the push of a button. Perfect for surprise attacks. And by "Surprise" we mean it's still bright yellow and looks like a folded up Nerf gun.
50** The Rebelle Secret Shot looks like a handbag when folded up. It does its job much better than the Deploy, as far as disguising itself.
51* ChainsawGripBFG: The Vulcan EBF-25, Hailfire, Rhino-Fire, Mastodon, Brainsaw, and the Rival Prometheus. In the Hailfire's case, the grip is pushed forward to advance to the next clip on the carousel while in the Brainsaw's case, it's literally a chainsaw integrated with the Roughcut style blaster.
52* ChargedAttack: Many air powered blasters depend on how full the air bladder or reservoir is when firing such as the Titan AS-V.1 with how far a missile can go or the Rapid Fire AS-20 that determines how fast you fire the darts loaded into it, the Titan in particular having a convenient meter that tells how charged it is. A more odd example could be blasters that depend on how hard you slam the mechanism to fire such as the launchers found on the Demolisher, Thunderblast and either the Tri-Strike's stock operated missile launcher or front operated MEGA dart blaster. Flywheel blasters also count in that firing too fast will bog down the motors, giving you reduced ranges unless you allow the flywheels to rev up completely, fully-automatic flywheel blasters such as the Rapidstrike, Hyperfire and MEGA Mastodon boosts the power of the flywheels when firing to compensate.
53* CherryTapping: The Atom Blaster: fires balls with ''abysmal'' range (5 feet, 10 if you're lucky) and velocity - and it's considered one of the most humiliating ways of being eliminated in a Nerf war.
54* ColonyDrop: The "story" of the [=DoomLands=] 2169 line began with an asteroid crashing into Earth's surface, ravaging the planet.
55* ColorCodedForYourConvenience:
56** Several guns come in store-exclusive, ''extremely''-rare variant colors, making it easier to tell apart ownership, or even teams in battle. Also a pastime of customizers.
57** Taken to an extreme with the "Clear Series" blasters; it's exactly what you think it is.
58** The Sonic Series uses a similar idea to the Clear, but in ''[[color:lightgreen:neon green]]''. Taken up another level with its successors, the Sonic ICE and Sonic FIRE series, which are light blue and dark red, respectively.
59** The Gear Up line is going with orange recolors, while the Vortex series is going with a more militaristic camo-green.
60** UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}, around mid-August 2011, is the exclusive carrier of the Whiteout line.
61** The 2012 N-Strike Elite series is in blue with some minor gray/white highlights to accentuate the bright orange trimmings, rather like the regular Longstrike's shell.
62*** Confusingly, later N-Strike blasters came in these blue color schemes as well, depite not having the same performance, and to muddy the waters even further, the Elite Rayen Stinger came in yellow.
63** The ''Rebelle'' blasters aimed at female Nerf fans are white, pink, and purple.
64** The ''Rival'' series blasters come in Red or Blue, and the Phantom Corps subline comes in white, with optional red and blue flags to distinguish teams.
65* CoolSword: Nerf also makes swords, although they tend not to be as fancy as the guns. There is probably more than one bayonet rifle mod out there somewhere using these swords.
66* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: The Zombie Strike Doominator and the [=DoomLands 2169=] line.
67* DoubleWeapon: The N-Force [[http://nerf.wikia.com/wiki/Vendetta_Double_Sword Vendetta]] is a pair of swords which can combine into a single double-bladed weapon.
68* EmergencyWeapon:
69** The Secret Strike is a teensy one-shot gun that clips onto your belt, with a secret shot compartment in the handle, a la James Bond.
70** And the Nerf Reflex, which is pretty much the brand's Derringer pistol.
71** And the built-in detachable one-shot pistol on the nose of the Longshot.
72** The 2012 N-Strike Jolt joins the ranks of ultra-compact pistol blasters, being much slimmer than the Reflex, and barely bigger than the Secret Strike. However, the Jolt can shoot an actually respectable distance. The only problem is low accuracy and surprising recoil.
73** The Modulus Strike & Defend Stock Blaster is basically a Jolt built into a detachable shoulder stock, for when your clip runs out.
74** The Modulus Grip Blaster is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, a two-shot Jolt-like blaster that's mounted onto a rail and held as a grip similar to the Longshot's barrel attached blaster.
75* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies:
76** Nerf blasters are the weapon of choice in the live-action game ''Roleplay/HumansVsZombies''.
77** And now there's the ''Zombie Strike'' subline, playing off of the extremely popular Humans Vs Zombies game.
78** The Z.E.D.-Squad subprint is a series of melee weapons that tie into the ''Zombie Strike'' line.
79* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin:
80** The N-Strike models are all given alphanumeric designations, the numeric part of which explains how many darts the gun can hold (Firefly REV-8, Recon/Longshot CS-6, Vulcan EBF-25, etc.) and the letters tell you how it holds darts. (CS = Clip System, REV = Revolver, EBF = Electronic Belt Fed).
81** The Modulus Stock Blaster is a stock with a blaster built in. Same with the Grip Blaster.
82* FanConvention: The dealers' room of the role-playing convention [=GenCon=] was once the scene of a massive Nerf battle between employees of Creator/{{TSR}} and several competing game companies.
83* FiringOneHanded: Most of the smaller handgun-like blasters can be fired one handed easily due to their lack of weight and recoil compared to their firearm equivalents, even the [[HandCannon CycloneShock]], but priming them still requires both hands. In most cases it's best to have your offhand on the priming slide instead of using a Weaver-hold. Blasters like the [=HammerShot=] and Lawbringer can be fired one-handed with their single-action hammer prime or even the Zombie Strike Slingfire, [[MeaningfulName befitting it's name]], can use a [[OneHandedShotgunPump slinging action to prime and fire the blaster one-handed]] a la [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay [=T-800=]]]. Flywheel and automatic blasters such as the Stryfe and Hyperfire can be fired one-handed as well.
84* FlareGun: The MEGA Bigshock is an up-scaled Jolt which fires Mega Darts, which whistles in a high velocity, point it to the sky and fire it when you want to call for a help.
85* FlechetteStorm: Many of the air-powered full-auto guns approach this.
86* {{Foreshadowing}}: The notes on the back of the Zombie Strike [=SledgeFire=]'s box says "Next Build: for one-handed blasting", cue the Hammershot that does just that.
87* GatlingGood: The Titan CS-50 features a decorative rotating barrel to give the illusion of a minigun and, as per its designation, carries a [[MoreDakka fifty dart drum]]. Many off-brands have done an aesthetic spinning barrel but this is the first time it's been done officially.
88* GuiltyPleasure: The blasters are so ''[[RuleOfCool cool]]'', but they're for kids, but they're so cool...
89** It's curious to note that, while marketed at children, the guns themselves are clearly designed with adult hand sizes in mind. Even more so, some of the blasters are just ''way'' too big for a child to hold, many of the MEGA blasters such as the Centurion, Thunderbow and ''Mastodon'' stand out. The Rival line seems marketed more toward teenagers and young adults with a competitive theme more akin to Airsoft and paintball (to the point the Rival section on the official website asks you to confirm your age).
90* GunAccessories:
91** Lots of them. Some guns come packed with shoulder stocks, laser dot sights and target reticules, then there's Tactical Rail hardware, quick-flip magazine clamps for faster reloads, ammo bandoliers, Tactical Vests, 35-dart (and 18-dart) drum magazines, ''and'' the Vulcan's (as well as the Stampede's) tripod(s). The Barrel Break IX-2 even has a shotgun-type dart rack for holding ammo, and the Stampede also has a mountable ballistic shield. Most coincidentally, ''real'' RIS accessories can be mounted on Nerf Tactical Rails with a minimum of blaster modding/sanding down. By far the most impressive is the Recon, which comes with a full set of red-light sights, barrel extension, ''and'' stock, much like a SOPMOD kit for actual assault rifles and submachine guns.
92** The CS-18 Rayven not only accepts tac-rail accessories and barrel extensions, it even comes with an all-new 18-dart magazine that can "charge up" glow-in-the-dark darts, which at night give the effect of [[EveryBulletIsATracer tracer fire]].
93** As a case of recursive mod-friendliness, some of the accessories themselves have ''more'' tactical rail mounts. Some notable ones include the Longstrike and Recon barrel extensions, the red-light scopes that come with said Recons, and even the ''two'' scopes that are part of the Elements EX-6 gift kit. Scope, on top of Scope, on top of Scope.
94** The closely-related Super Soaker water blasters of the latest product line possess Tactical Rails, as do with the Vortex disc blasters. The Nitron even has an all-new scope, all the better to take aim with.
95** The 2012 N-Strike Elite blasters feature magazines that are translucent on one side, allowing spectators and left-handed users to see the ammo inside. The Elite Retaliator expands on the Recon's SOPMOD kit style with an improved stock, a larger 12-dart extended magazine, and an assault grip attachment for the barrel extension.
96** The Modulus has a line of accessories and blasters designed to complement each other, with stocks, foregrips, scopes, and barrel extensions. Several of these have attachment points for more accessories.
97*** The most infamous of these attachments is the Dual-Rail Barrel extension, which has a muzzle end that can accept yet another barrel extension. Considering you can buy several of them on Amazon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJqx6tYDADc you can probably piece together what people ended up doing with them]].
98* GunsAkimbo:
99** The Barricade and the Stockade are semi-automatic revolvers. You just know that people are going to buy two and use these to the max.
100** Strong people have also done this with a pair of Vulcans, Stampedes, or Rapidstrikes, the Nerf version of dual-wielding chainguns or assault rifles.
101** The Rayven CS-18 lends itself well to this trope as well, given its electrical flywheel and its relatively compact, bullpup design.
102** The Barricade has been retooled for the Elite series as the Stockade. It shoots even further and holds an extra cylinder's worth of darts in the stock. All this does is make it more practical to duel wield.
103** The Elite series Stryfe is also semi-auto, but uses clips instead of dedicated revolver chambers like the Barricade and Stockade. Combine two of these with 18 or 36 dart drums, and you'd make even the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}} surliest Ork]] shed a single tear of [[MoreDakka pride]].
104** The REV-6 Maverick, a manual revolver-style blaster with a slide, can be dual-wielded by tying a string between the slides of two Mavericks and pulling them away from each other to re-cock. It can also be done by [[SimpleYetAwesome holding one gun upside-down, placing the slides against each other, and pushing in opposite directions.]]
105** The Rapidstrike is lighter than the Stampede and uses smaller batteries. Combine that with the 18 dart clip each comes with, and you'll give your opponents reason to pause. Or better yet, flee.
106** The Hammershot and Sweet Revenge can be primed one-handed, since the hammer is within thumb's reach. Needless to say, they make good candidates for DualWielding.
107** Similarly to the Hammershot is the Double Strike, a two-shot derringer with the same sort of hammer system.
108** The Elite Firestrike was designed with this in mind, there's a spur or hook on the butt of the grip next to the battery cover, allowing you to prime another Firestrike's plunger and loading darts into each blaster while holding onto both is surprisingly easy.
109** The Lawbringer from the [=DoomLands=] 2169 line has hammer priming like the Hammershot/Sweet Revenge, essentially allowing you to use two of them if you can hold them.
110** The Elite [=SplitStrike=] splits to become two individual pistols, with a hook on the end of each blaster's grip that fits into the priming ring of the other. This also allows faster reloading, since they can be recombined to free up one hand while inserting darts.
111** For the logical conclusion, with the given belts, you can carry two ''MEGA'' ''[[{{BFG}} Mastodons]]'' at once, and they're fully automatic.
112* GunTwirling:
113** The proportions of the Maverick make this ridiculously easy. Did we mention that this is their biggest seller?
114** Many other, bigger blasters can be easily twirled if the weight and proportions are right such as the Longstrike, Sledgefire, Strongarm, [[HandCannon CycloneShock]], etc.
115** As for smaller blasters, Elite Triad EX-3 is a triple barreled pistol-sized blaster which can be twirled effortlessly thanks to its light weight.
116** And then there's the Elite Firestrike, which is specifically designed for dual wielding and twirling.
117** The Stryfe, provided you didn't add any attachment onto it, can be twirled at ease.
118* HandCannon: Nerf pistols tend to be huge compared to their real counterparts, due to the size of the darts. In terms of relative scale, the Nerf Elite MEGA series Magnus pistol is a major example, being an exceptionally sizeable pistol chambered ''for ammunition that an anti-materiel rifle'' like the Centurion was made to use. Yikes. The later [=CycloneShock=] is ''even bigger''. The two MEGA "pistols" compensate for younger users by allowing you to grip onto the blaster under the barrel with your offhand. There's also the Bigshock, a powerhouse with the look of a Jolt but with the function of a standard MEGA blaster. The Rival series blasters are also quite large due to their ball ammo; although the Phantom Corps Kronos handgun is actually more compact than the MEGA Magnus, it's still bigger than most Micro Dart pistols.
119** Nerf Mega darts are ''20 millimeters'' in size-this is the point where you start calling it a ''cannon'' instead of a ''gun.''
120** The New Mega XL Big Rig shoots darts that are twice the size of Mega darts.
121* HollywoodSilencer: The Spectre comes with a barrel attachment that looks very similar to a silencer. Other barrels have also been released that take the appearance of silencers and flash suppressors. Obviously, none of these do anything to reduce sound (most Nerf blasters are pretty quiet anyway, with the exception of flywheel blasters), but they look [[RuleOfCool super cool]].
122* IKEAWeaponry:
123** The Recon CS-6 and the Elite Retaliator can be used on their own, but can be quite a sight fully assembled.
124** Not to mention the fact that the entire N-Strike line is designed with Tactical Rails, allowing interchanging of parts with most accessories.
125** The Modulus takes this up to eleven, as a single blaster with an ''entire subprint line'' dedicated to it. The blaster itself comes with a few accessories, and then has four expansion packs worth of extras available.
126* ImprobableWeaponUser: Most blasters, simply for their sheer size, though the N-Force Battlemaster Mace falls somewhere between BatterUp and EpicFlail.
127* InsistentTerminology:
128** Hasbro calls them Nerf ''Blasters'' and ''Clips'', not ''guns'' and ''magazines'' so as to try and distance them from real firearms.
129*** In hindsight, the latter term was probably a mistake, considering magazines are often called clips in TV shows, movies, and music too. Additionally, the newer lines, namely Vortex and RIVAL, use the term "magazine" correctly, but it's too late to change the name for their clip system since everyone is so familiar with the name.
130** The Modulus Battlescout ICS-10, on the other hand, features an ''actual'' clip rather than a magazine. Same for the N-Strike Elite Stratobow that features a hard-mounted clip that cycles upward.
131** In a curious inversion, the Magstrike blaster also uses a clip, despite being called the ''Mag''strike.
132** Most enthusiasts prefer to refer to the respective blasters as "clip system blasters" while the magazines themselves typically get called "clip system magazines" in order to distinguish the fact that their magazines are compatible with clip-system blasters.
133* ISurrenderSuckers: The Nerf Secret Shot pistol was designed and marketed to pull this off, with the ad showing a kid raising his hands in surrender and then firing off a hidden dart from the bottom of the grip.
134* LaserSight: Understandably, Nerf "laser sights" are just dim red flashlights instead of being [[MyLittlePanzer high-powered, precise lasers]].
135** The Nite Finder includes a targeting light built into it. The Firestrike and Volt, being the descendents of the Nite Finder, include one as well.
136** There was also a Light Beam Unit included with the Recon and Element [=EX=]-6 that could function as a very dim red flashlight or a targeting dot.
137** The Moudlus Targeting Light Beam can be attached to a blaster's rail, and discharges a green light instead of a red one.
138* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The N-Force Stonewall Shield, as well as the Stampede's mountable ballistic shield and the Modulus Strike & Defend shield.
139* MacrossMissileMassacre: The Rapid Fire AS-20, as the alphanumeric designation implies, holds 20 rounds at a time. They can all be fired simultaneously.
140* MeaningfulName:
141** The Jolt. As far as Nerf goes, it could easily be called a [[Film/MenInBlack Noisy Cricket]], because it looks like the pistol from the film.
142** Exaggerated with the Big Shock. It is just like the Jolt... except instead of an Elite dart, it uses a MEGA dart, like the Centurion and Magnus. In other words, a Mega Jolt.
143** The Triad can fire three shots without reloading.
144** The Splitstrike splits in half to become two fully functional blasters.
145* MoreDakka:
146** Nerf seems to be obsessed with just how much Dakka they can get a plastic gun to shoot. Their current masterpiece in terms of speed? 25 darts in ''7 seconds''. In terms of capacity? The N-Strike Elite Hail-Fire can hold eight 18-round clips, for a total of ''144 darts'', at any one time.[[note]]Though the Hail-Fire itself only includes four 6-dart clips and 24 darts.[[/note]]
147** Unofficially, it can hold 4 of the Raider 35 dart drums. That's ''152 darts'', or a little more than an extra standard clip.
148** The Elite series replaces all the internals of their more popular designs with more powerful, more reliable internals.
149** The Elite ''Rapidstrike'' electrically-powered carbine ships with an 18-dart magazine and can empty it in seconds with its powerful flywheel and worm-and-wheel dart pusher.
150*** Rate of Fire: Three darts per second or 180 rounds per minute.
151** The Elite ''Hyperfire'' electrically-powered submachine gun ships with a 25-dart drum and can empty it way faster than the Rapidstrike thanks to its use of conveyor belt system to feed the darts to the flywheel.
152*** Rate of Fire: ''Five'' darts per second or ''300 rounds'' per minute.
153** The Rhino-Fire uses two "recoilless" barrels to pump out darts from two 25 dart-drums.
154** The RIVAL line boasts about its high muzzle velocity and accuracy, and has some pretty impressive ammo capacity in the bigger blasters. The Khaos assault rifle has a 4x10 box magazine; the Artemis sports a 3x10 integrated magazine, while the Hades has a 3x20 integrated magazine. The Nemesis takes it further by being able to chamber ''100 balls'' via a hopper, and the Prometheus has a ''200 ball'' hopper. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7MDrUG4cws Adam Savage]] modified his Nemesis, turning the 100-ball hopper into a ''1000 ball'' one.
155** The Stampede ECS was originally supposed to come with a 50 dart drum, but the idea was scrapped despite being patented. Nearly 10 years later, the drum was finally released with the Titan CS-50.
156** The Rival Edge variant of the Helios was supposed to come with a thirty round helical drum, but unfortunately it never made it into shelves. Only one person is known to have gotten their hands on this rare accessory.
157* MundaneUtility: The N-Strike Elite Infinus is a pretty neat blaster by being able to reload on the fly. It's also a really convenient tool to easily load magazines for use in other blasters.
158* NailEm: The Nailbiter is a dual-action blaster that, as its name suggests, resembles a nail gun. It lacks a priming handle and is instead primed and fired upon trigger pull. It can hold up to eight darts in its integrated clip.
159* {{Nerf}}:
160** [[{{Irony}} inverted]]; [[SeriousBusiness Hard-core]] users customize the guns to make them shoot farther and/or look cooler. The most common mods are removals of air restrictors, installations of stronger springs, and barrel upgrades for better range/accuracy.
161** There are confirmed cases of modders revamping blasters into automatics powered by paintball CO[[subscript:2]] tanks
162** N-Strike magazines, drums and even ammo belts are often rebuilt to handle more ammo.
163** Electrically-powered blasters, like the Stampede, the Vulcan, the Barricade, the Vortex Nitron, and the new Rayven, are often subject to [[TimTaylorTechnology over-volting]] by modders for even more dakka. Of course, going overboard will [[HeroicRROD melt]] the blaster from the intense heat, or, in the case of the Stampede, cause a mechanical malfunction that may [[ExplosiveOverclocking make the blaster shoot uncontrollably]]. [[note]]Admittedly, this makes the Stampede even more like a gas-piston carbine like the Kalashnikov rifles, which can malfunction in exactly the same manner if poorly treated![[/note]]
164** There are also other nifty mods, such giving most of the Clip System blasters shotgun-style pump-action, integrating one-shot blasters ''into'' the Tactical Rails for mounting as backup firepower, and the barrel extensions that let you turn a one-shot blaster into a 19-dart scattergun.
165** A group known as Orange Mod Works has released pre-fabricated modkits for beefing up some of the N-Strike Blasters, easily almost-doubling their power.
166** On a more disturbing note, someone successfully weaponized a Rev-6 revolver by turning it into a Taser.
167** Further inverted by the N-Strike Elite series, which is claimed to have a stock range of 75 feet.
168*** Exaggerated with the N-Strike Elite MEGA series, which currently consists of the Centurion and the Magnus. While their effective ranges are less consistent per-shot, they tend to hit the 70 foot range flat, with a maximum distance of ''100 feet''.
169*** Even further inverted with the [=XD=] versions of several Elite blasters, which have their range knocked up from 75 feet to 90.
170** Some international versions of the Elite blasters have grey triggers, seemingly to signify a weaker, safer build. Hasbro has since claimed that they are no different from the US versions, which have orange triggers instead; the lower advertised firing range on packaging is due to legal concerns where the blasters haven't been fully range tested. That said, some of them initially had a noticeable difference in performance, but still better than the standard N-Strike equivalents.
171* NoisyGuns:
172** Pretty much all flywheel blasters and electronic spring blasters make loud noises when operating and/or firing.
173*** In particular the Vulcan, which has a repeating plunger that clatters realistically loudly.
174*** The Stampede can be described as a very angry camera shutter.
175*** Modified flywheel blasters can sound like a Formula One race car revving up and can notify [[HellIsThatNoise other players of their impending doom]].
176*** In addition to its flywheels, the Zombie Strike Revoltinator has its own built-in sounds played from a speaker.
177** For the manual action blasters, the Vortex Revonix 360 is ''the'' loudest. Try emptying it's 30 disc drum magazine via slam-fire without hurting your ears.
178** Many MEGA blasters are louder owing to their larger plunger size and length, particularly the Centurion due to the way it loads darts. It makes a notable "ka-thunk!" noise which is the sound of the blaster firing and the chambering slide springing back. [[LawOfInverseRecoil This also gives it the effect of recoil]].
179** The powerful spring of the plunger-powered Rival series ball blasters gives them quite the kick, and the report of their firing is a lot more pronounced than most dart blasters.
180** Missile launching blasters such as the Thunderblast and Demolisher have their own "thump" sound whenever they fire a projectile, similar to a GrenadeLauncher.
181* PinballProjectile: Non-suction darts simply bounce off of whatever they hit without much reliability but XLR Discs of Vortex blasters can be curved and bounced around corners. Same with Rival ammo due to their ball shape. The effectiveness of ricocheting shots depends on a NERF war's rules if being hit by a ricochet counts or not.
182* PowerGlows: The old Firefly REV-8 revolver had a built-in light that simulated muzzle flashes and lit up fluorescent darts. The Vortex Lumitron and the Rayven CS-18 have mags available that can charge up similar fluorescent ammo.
183* PunnyName: The Stockade is the Barri''cade'' with a ''stock''.
184* RevolversAreJustBetter:
185** The [[http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/shop/details.cfm?guid=1A97009C-19B9-F369-1000-E54C51660819&product_id=27343&src=endeca Maverick]], which is also a HandCannon and their best seller.
186** Also the Spectre REV-5, which holds one dart less then the Maverick but is more reliable and powerful. And it also has a [[AwesomeButImpractical silencer]] as well as a foldable stock.
187** The Barricade REV-10 is a ''semi-automatic'' 10-shooter. It produces an amazing [[Webcomic/SchlockMercenary Ominous Hummmm]] while switched on.
188*** Now the Stockade, which uses faster ''and quieter'' flywheels and adds a stock that can hold 10 extra darts.
189** There is also the classic Dart Tag ''Furyfire'' Blaster, a ''pump-action'' 10-shooter.
190** The 2012 Dart Tag Swarmfire, Speedfire, and Snapfire 8 are revolvers of a sort. Swarmfire holds 20 darts, Speedswarm 10, and while these larger revolvers are ''motorized'', the Snapfire 8 is a variable-pressure double-action with a dial at the base of the handle to adjust the tension of the plunger.
191** The Strongarm, being the successor to the Maverick, takes the revolver design of its predecessor and adds increased range and slam-fire capability.
192** The Firefly REV-8, which is an 8-dart bullpup style revolver with glowing darts. It basically uses a camera strobe to flash-charge the darts, too.
193** The Hammershot and Sweet Revenge are twin 5 dart revolvers that use the same basic design, being able to use a hammer to prime the blaster one-handed and even fan them like real single-action revolvers, but offer different aesthetics in the Zombie Strike and Rebelle lines, respectively.
194** The [=CycloneShock=] takes the Maverick's design and makes it even BIGGER. It fires the Centurion and Magnus' MEGA darts!
195** The [=RotoFury=] is a giant [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun]] like blaster with a cylinder for ten MEGA darts.
196** The Zombie Strike [=FlipFury=] is essentially a Strongarm with two cylinders that can be cycled with a secondary trigger.
197** The Zombie Strike [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doominator]] takes the [=FlipFury=] concept up to eleven with ''four'' six-dart cylinders that requires a two-finger secondary trigger just to switch cylinders.
198** Both of the first [=DoomLands=] 2169 blasters use revolver cylinders.
199** The Disruptor is the successor of the Strongarm. It omits the collapsible cylinder for a faster reloading, similar to the [=RotoFury=].
200* RuleOfCool:
201** Making guns safe for kids to play with!
202** Slow dart projectile speeds allows for Nerf players to actually ''dodge'' bullets.
203** N-Strike blasters tend towards impressively realistic mechanisms and mods, ''just like actual firearms'', while Vortex disc blasters adopt a more fancy sci-fi feel with their orange-red muzzles, oblong barrels, and green bodies, and the 2011/2012 Dart tag series has more of a curved, rounded, bulky raygun motif.
204* ScavengerWorld: The aesthetic of [=DoomLands=] 2169 and Zombie Strike
205* ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon: Although two N-Strike blasters are modeled after sniper rifles, their range isn't any better than other blasters. Averted by most modified Longshots. One of the simplest mods is to put a heavy-duty spring around the plunger, which ''drastically'' increases range and velocity. Later releases of the Longshot and Longstrike (the store exclusive color ones) have better internals.
206* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: The Raider's "slam-fire" pump lets you put a lot of darts out there really fast. Your accuracy drops to nil, but who needs that when you can [[MoreDakka fill an area with darts?]] The N-Strike Elite ''Rampage'' takes after the Raider despite having ten less darts and lacking the stock of its predecessor but features the higher ranges with its direct plunger. Just note when we refer to NERF shotguns, they can either be blasters that are primed with a shotgun pump or blasters that actually fire more than one dart in a single prime.
207** The Alpha Trooper CS-18 also features the slam-fire of its Raider predecessor, and is lighter, slimmer, and more reliable, striking the balance between firepower and size with its 18-dart drum magazine.
208** The Quick 16 blaster from the latest Dart Tag series has an integrated banana magazine and is designed to permit on-the-fly reloading. Oh, and like the Raider and Alpha Trooper, it has slam-fire.
209** While the Vortex Praxis lacks slam-fire in its pump-action mechanism, it packs the range and accuracy to make up for it, as well as an impressive 10-disc magazine. Its successor, the Vortex Pyragon, has a massive 40-disc drum magazine ''and'' slam-fire.
210** The Zombie Strike [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doominator]] is a large, four six-cylinder slam-fire blaster with a pump action grip that can be moved into different positions.
211** The NERF N-Strike Elite MEGA [=RotoFury=] is a ten-dart, pump action [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] with slam-fire.
212** The Vagabond from the [=DoomLands=] line combines pump-action with RevolversAreJustBetter.
213** Examples in which multiple shots are fired in a shotgun manner:
214*** The Barrel Break IX-2 fires, as the numerical designation suggests, two shots at once and resembles a SawedOffShotgun. It also comes with a dart-holding accessory, like real shotguns.
215*** The Rough Cut 2x4 takes a leaf from the Barrel Break's book, firing two rounds at once and looking like a SawedOffShotgun.
216*** The Zombie Strike line's Sledgefire uses special shells that hold three darts each and fires them in a spread. While it only comes with three of them, the shells can be reloaded from the shoulder stock pretty easily.
217*** If you load two MEGA Darts and a Rival Ball into Rival Zeus MXV-2000, it blasts three rounds like a '''literal''' shotgun.
218*** The Rival Atlas XVI-1200 not only primes like a shotgun but fires two balls out of the same barrel in a shotgun manner.
219*** The Rival Knockout XX-100, due to being a breech loader, can load up to four balls into the barrel [[note]]load two balls at the back, close the barrel, and then load two more balls at the front[[/note]] and fire all of them simultaneously, turning it into a shotgun pistol.
220*** There's the [=DoomLands=] 2169 Double Dealer that loads two clip magazines like the Rhino-Fire and fires two darts per shot.
221*** The [=Doomland=] 2169 The Judge, on the other hand, is a huge revolving pump action {{BFG}} that fires three darts simultaneously.
222* ShurFineGuns: Once in a while, unlucky people buy Nerf blasters with factory defects that make them jam easily. The Maverick in particular suffers from a reputation of being easily-jammed due to occasional bad production runs resulting in poor-tolerance blasters only good for spare parts for repairing functional Mavericks.
223* SightedGunsAreLowTech: Some blasters lack a proper male and female sight, some make up for it by having tactical rails to attach your own. The Alien Menace line in particular has no sights nor attachment points for them.
224* SniperPistol:
225** Inverted; the sniper rifle-esque Longshot and Longstrike shoot no farther than any other gun.
226** Played straight with the Nite Finder, a single-shot pistol with among the best ranges for any N-Strike blaster.
227*** The Elite Firestrike, being its direct plunger successor, can fire up to 75 feet, and its orange variant can even fire up to ''90 feet'', a pistol firing further than sniper rifles, no less.
228** The Vortex Proton and Vigilon pistols also play this trope straight, with excellent range on their disc ammo that easily outperforms most unmodified dart blasters.
229** The N-Strike Jolt EX-1 ultra-compact pistol is capable of matching the Nitefinder in performance, easily making it the most powerful and long-ranged ultra-compact pistol blaster.
230*** The Elite Triad EX-3 (as well as the revised DX variant) is a variation on the same design, with three darts claimed to fire up to ''75 feet''.
231** The Elite MEGA Magnus and Bigshock use the larger MEGA darts, and can match the Centurion rifle in ranges from 70 to 100 feet.
232** The whole N-Strike Elite line, including [=XD=] re-releases of some older blasters, knock their range up from 75 to 90 feet.
233** The RIVAL line focuses on accuracy over quantity, and have a range on the high-end of around 80 feet.
234* SniperRifle: the aforementioned Longstrike and the Longshot. The 2013 Elite Mega Centurion takes the concept further and is effectively an ''anti-materiel rifle''.
235** The Modulus ECS-10 can become one by fitting on parts of the long range upgrade kit
236* SpiritualSuccessor: Many of the N-Strike Elite blasters are redone editions of previous N-Strike blasters with the Elite colors, redesigned shape, different attachments and the improved stock ranges of the line.
237** The Retaliator to the Recon.
238*** The Modulus Recon MK. II succeeds both of these.
239** The Rampage to the Raider.
240** The Firestrike to the Nitefinder.
241** The Strongarm to the Maverick.
242** The Stockade to the Barricade.
243** The Rapidstrike to the Stampede
244** The Mega Centurion to the Longshot or Longstrike.
245** The Rhino-Fire to the Vulcan
246** The Bigshock to the Jolt
247** The MEGA Dart to the Whistler Dart
248** RIVAL seems to be the more serious version of the Dart Tag series with a similar competitive idea with blasters having two team colors (discounting the white Phantom Corps. blasters with attachable team flags) along with vests and facial protection much like the velcro vests and safety glasses of the Dart Tag lines.
249* {{Steampunk}}: A popular theme among customizers, especially with the Maverick.
250* SecondaryFire: Many blasters tend to have two ways to fire in certain ways and many modders integrate blasters to act as a secondary fire.
251** Burst/Rapid Fire:
252*** The Hornet AS-6 can fire its six darts sequentially or a button on the side fires all of them at the same time, same for the Rapid Fire AS-20 that can fire its darts automatically in sequence or [[MacrossMissileMassacre all 20 via a similar button]].
253*** Slam-fire blasters work by holding the trigger and pumping rapidly, [[TruthInTelevision like the Winchester 1897 and similar shotguns that lacked a trigger disconnect]].
254*** The Vulcan EBF-25 can either be primed and fired manually or fire fully automatic.
255*** The Barrel Break IX-2, Rough Cut 2x4 and MEGA Twinshock use a two-stage trigger where each priming action allows you to fire one dart then the other via a halfway trigger pull or both at the same time.
256*** The Modulus Regulator is the first true select-fire NERF blaster, allowing you to change between single fire, three-dart burst or fully automatic with a selector switch.
257** Over/Underslung Weapons:
258*** The EmergencyWeapon of the Longshot CS-6 can be used as a separate shot between the shots of the main blaster or to act as a double shot. The Modulus Grip Blaster has a similar function but rail mounted, Jolt-size with two shots.
259*** The Unity Power System takes this to the extreme by attaching the Scout IX-3 and Hornet AS-6 to the Titan AS-V.1, allowing you to fire the Hornet's six darts, the Scout's one dart and the Titan's rocket in any preferred order
260*** The Demolisher 2-in-1 advertises it right there in its name. Its secondary fire is a large foam missile, like an underslung grenade launcher.
261*** The Modulus Stock Blaster is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a blaster built into a detachable stock]], allowing any compatible gun to become this. The Modulus Grip-Blaster is similar.
262*** The Modulus Stockshot is similar but holds four shots, however it must be detached from the blaster to use. The Barrelstrike is similar in concept; four shots. However it can be fired while it's mounted on the barrel and, when detached, can flip the barrel portion to use as a stock.
263*** The Modulus Tri-Strike has it's blaster, the MEGA dart launcher on the front barrel and the stock operated missile launcher, said missile launcher on the tactical rail can be attached to the stock itself to function as it's own blaster.
264** Spinning Up Barrels[=/=]ChargedAttack:
265*** ''All'' flywheel blasters past the Barricade/Stockade have a dedicated secondary trigger instead of a switch that revs up the flywheels though this makes it more of the case where the secondary trigger works in synergy with the primary trigger.
266** Unrelated:
267*** The Elite Dual-Strike has a selector allowing you to fire the Elite darts or MEGA darts that are loaded in the blaster.
268*** "Secondary fire" of the Zombie Strike [=FlipFury=] or [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doominator]] switches between cylinders. This makes it handy having one cylinder ready while you reload the other(s).
269* SugarApocalypse: People have made deadly serious war videos using happy, bright-colored toy guns. Most of the time, these start as a prank or joke with DisproportionateRetribution being the end result. (Someone stole the last cookie? Break out the [[{{BFG}} Mastodon]]!)
270** Probably the most notable is [[https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNerfSocom NERF Socom]].
271* ThemeNaming: Many lines outside of the N-Strike Elite line give particular names to their blasters that is if they aren't {{Meaningful Name}}s or ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
272** The RIVAL line uses ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming such as Zeus, Atlas, Khaos, Artemis, etc. Sadly, this naming trend seems to have been abandoned for the line since late 2019.
273** The [=AccuStrike=] line uses [[AnimalThemeNaming birds of prey]] names for their blasters, based on the line's focus of accurate darts.
274** Outside of the Praxis and Revonix 360, the Vortex line used names that ended in "-on".
275** The primary [=DoomLands=] 2169 line uses heroic, cowboy-esque names such as Lawbringer, Vagabond, Swift Justice while the Impact Zone subline seems to have apocalyptic themed names like Desolator.
276* TriggerHappy: Half the fun is being able to shoot others in the groin without worry of much pain.
277** For the not-so-truly-daring, any of the revolvers (both manual and electric flywheel) can be used for a non-deadly game of RussianRoulette.
278*** To play this further. You could do this with the Vulcan's ammo belt or the Hail-Fire's clip carousel.
279* UnbreakableWeapons: The Nerf foam itself is incredibly tough to break:
280** Taken to extremes with some comedians. Jerry Seinfeld once said that cars should be made of Nerf foam to avoid collision injuries, and ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' once featured a joke about "Nerf ''doors'' and ''stairs''", for a husband and wife, the latter of which came into the office looking rather beaten.
281** The Recon has gained a reputation for being nigh-indestructible when stock. There exist reports of it being dropped from moving cars without sustaining damage. However, when modded, [[ShurFineGuns well...]]
282* UniversalAmmunition: Blasters within the same generation tend to use the exact same darts/discs/balls. Anything that uses a Clip System magazine can happily take N-Strike, Elite, Zombie Strike, Rebelle, and Doomlands clip system mags.
283** Subverted with [=AccuStrike=] darts by design fault more than anything. While they are designed to be loaded and fired from magazines, the rubber head doesn't taper like streamline darts. This results in the heads sometimes catching on the plastic sides of the magazine and causing a jam.
284* XtremeKoolLetterz:
285** Rather than the classic darts, the Vortex series loads and fires XLR Discs. (That's eXtra Long Range, not extra large rounds.)
286** A handful of Elite blasters were rereleased as [=XD=] (eXtreme Distance) variants after a minor breakthrough in launcher design.
287* WeaksauceWeakness: Vortex discs fly ''very'' poorly when wet.

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