In December, I was able to purchase an FDL-Basic beta unit before the general release. This made it a great birthday present for my fiance. Between the two of us, weve put many clips of ammo through the blaster, seeing if anything went wrong or if anything could be improved. The Basic blaster is great for everything. You could also spend the same amount on multiple blasters for different types of games. This blaster is well worth the investment if you are willing to pay the extra money. Especially when compared to the price of the FDL-3 before it.
Less Is More
The FDL-Basic 3d-printed blaster is simple and pistol-shaped. It is powered by an Arduino and uses brushless motors for high-speed darts. Unlike previous entries, it has also been simplified. It is now free of OLED screens, settings menus and presets. There are also support for multiple types of ammo. The FDL-Basic, aside from the trigger and switch, has a voltmeter and motor speed knob. It also has a rate of fire knob. My Vortex-FDL uses FDL-3 hardware, so I don’t use all the settings. And with the blaster only made for short darts and Talon magazines, it now just focuses on the greatest common denominator, especially now that short darts are more common.
Alas, I guess Ill have to use other things to fulfill my alternative ammo shenanigans
The blaster is very comfortable and has a large handle. This also holds the battery. There are actually two removable doors, one for inserting the battery, and the other for connecting the wire leads.
At the front, theres a small forward grip; if you use the blaster two-handed, its easiest to wrap around the grip and part of the mag, with a thumb sticking up behind the motor cage. Although I prefer larger grips, it is perfectly usable. Meanwhile, the back has a simple hook loop for mounting a sling (a stock option should be available).
Performance
The fps and rate of fire are both variable, as designed. My blaster averages between 100-180fps when using Adventure Force Pro short darts depending on the knob settings.
The rate of fire is between 1-15 darts per minute. This is a full-auto only blaster, but between the knob settings and trigger discipline, its not hard to just do single shots.
The blaster is remarkably consistent and accurate in all cases.
Gameplay
The blaster has performed well in small wars and other testing settings. Granted, that depends on whether Im allowed to use it its not my blaster, after all.
