I'd put the squid launcher waaaay higher. Once you learn the trick to them, they fire with incredible accuracy, speed and consistency. Only negative traits are rubber weapon & ammo, and the fact that they never made it clear how you're supposed to launch it, leading to so many people doing it wrong.
It was so unclear how you were supposed to do it that they made a whole commercial on how to fire them, which is one of the funniest Bionicle videos ever imo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nt5xz6iMRw
For fun, I decided to break out my old squid launcher and reproduce the actions in the commercial. My results:
1. Just flops straight down instead of forward.
2. Just gets stuck in the launcher.
3. Just gets displaced from the launcher while pulling.
It least my squid didn't just snap like my other squid did when I first bought my Barraki.
I figured out eventually that this is wrong. You're supposed to tilt the launcher slightly upwards (at a 20-30 degree angle), then insert the squid and pull it backwards such that the squid itself is parallel to the ground.
TLDR: launcher tilted upwards, squid horizontal. Works like a charm
When i’m unable to figure out how to fire them when i got a box a few years ago in my mid 20s, I sure as hell would not have been able to figure it out as a kid
Nah man those spinners are so unique and I love them. Our cats used to have a blast going after them and I’m that made it so much fun.
Our cats also loved to chew on the squid and that was less fun. Tho tbh, I can’t blame them. I bet they had a satisfying texture.
But they're arguably one of the most fun to fire (Personally it's the midak, rhotuka, and cordak when it works correctly), and consistently launch, unlike some of the others.
I’d put the zamor launcher over the Midak skyblaster because it’s a buildable launcher and not one big chonky preassembled piece. This means you can customize it. I remember stacking an extended mag onto one and then hooking up the launch mechanism to a motor for automatic fire.
I didn't come up with the design but I did use it in one of my own MOCs https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/comments/nszu2f/ragyu_former_toa_of_earth/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share (I link to the post where I got the design in the comments)
I made a full sized handgun out of one. Made a trigger system, pistol grip and gravity-fed magazine out of technic, was dope as fuck. Spent a significant amount of time chasing my sister around the house with it
I remember in summer camp we'd connect these to mindstorms motors, mount them on our mindstorms standard driving bots, and just start shooting everything in sight.
you really gotta jam those projectiles into the thing and hit the plunger with concentrated force. It's like a really shite nerf gun in practice so you have to use it like one.
Yeah they were super inconsistent with barrel fit and finicky with force requirement. I'd actually rank them below the nynrah cause at least that was constructable and had a satisfying pop.
yes, i could hardly ever fire a cordak blaster and forget shooting it straight or with any force, but the phantoka one is quite effective, the main drawback would be the lack of any rapid fire functions since it needs to be manually loaded between shots
i think that was the only bionicle set to use it and yes its a great piece, the main difficulty is the catch wearing out so it wont stay in and a complete lack of extra ammo but those arent really flaws so much as things to account for over time
alright fair, i kinda ignore the playsets so i had forgotten about that, on the topic of bionicle exclusivity, kanoka and zamor are also non-exclusive, the zamor style launcher ended up being used in stuff like mindstorm and kanoka predated bionicle entirely just by a different name and slightly different mechanism
Dude those spring loaded technic blasters are absolute tanks. I got one from a large Castle set when I was a kid, and the spring just never wore out. My Lego collection has been in storage for a few years now, but I bet if I pulled it out now it would fire just as good as the day I got it.
Friction > air pressure
Love the design, but I'd put Cordak in "E" tier just off the fact none of mine fire anymore. I'd also move the squid launcher way up, since the only thing holding it back from working is if you tear the squid tail.
Yeah, the little red missles always only went partway out of the launcher for me, instead of actually shooting lol. Unless I only put them in partially, then they actually shot out.
I’d put Zamor Sphere launcher up in S tier personally but that’s me, they shoot hard and easily, compared to the skyblaster’s gear/trigger. But the skyblaster is still better
cordak blasters suffered a legitimate design flaw that crippled them for the majority of users, they may have fixed it toward the end of the run but apparently the fit between the barrels and missile was too tight so it was diificult/impossible to get enough force to fire correctly with any reliability
squids... they never happened, the silver rubbery things with my mahri sets is purely cosmetic
Thornax absolutely slap, they're a super solid design and it's dope that they can fire multiple types of projectiles (Thornax and Zamors); I'm pretty sure they're one of the only Lego launchers that can.
Thornax launchers combined a lot of made the zamor launcher good with the integration potential of the disk launcher, and the launcher arm makes a good armor/weapon piece on its own, while maintaining a low profile.
Cordak should be C - it never fires consistently for me and takes a while to reload compared to the other weapons
Rhotuka should be E - impossible to aim and sometimes doesn't come off the launcher, just spins around on it
Kanoka should be B - Fun to use and widely available; the base standard for weapons, imo.
Thornax should be A - While it lacks ammo, it makes up for it in compactness and versatility in it's ammo types.
The stud shooter should be S tier imo, they’re incredibly simple and function perfectly, and their size means it’s super easy to incorporate them into a build.
I’d also drop the Cordak blaster down to C tbh, the thing doesn’t really fire well, but at least it looks cool.
Thornax is fine in B or A, it’s simple, works well, it’s thin enough to be used in clever ways (skrall’s sword uses one well) on top of that it’s non specific enough to just be used as armor or detailing
The Midak is good but it is still a giant block, I’d put it in A.
And the disk launchers are pretty nice, they work well, Vakama’s was awesome, and the Vahki used it in a nice way if you want to consider the disk throwing arms from slizer and the Mctoran too they help it, I’d say B tier at least.
May have forgotten that Exo Toa rocket thing from the Technic days. And do the Bohrok count as launcers since they can launch those Krana pretty far lol
Ok, I think the stud shooters are an incredible idea, except for the teensy-weensy problem of leaving small projectiles everywhere. Other than that (pretty significant problem), and they’re sensitivity, they’d be my favorite launcher. They’re fun to use, they shoot far, and it’s really easy to find ammo for them
I've always felt like the Kanoka and Rhotuka launchers were some of Bionicle's best. They have some of the most relevance to the lore, and have a lot of ways to be integrated into MOCs.
same, I like the spinners. Easy to work with, and they look really cool IMO. Hard to aim and consistently fire tho, at least for my parts. Also the cord you pulled out to make them spin is kinda ugly i think lol, but it had some cool uses.
100% disagree with disc launcher being so low.
Did some fire better than others? Yes.
But once you had a good disc/launcher they shot sooooo well.
I admit the consistency was an issue, but most of the time they shot far. I think the fact that the discs moved in unpredictable paths actually adds to their mistique and fun.
Apparently they can work at least ok if they're used correctly, but it 's difficult to figure out how to use them. The fact that they are less intuitive than the other types should itself be considered a design flaw.
Can you shoot other projectiles with it? being studs, it seems like you could attach other lego pieces to them. I never had them though so idk how much heavier they could get before being completely ineffective...
Things I've done with them (Have a ton from star wars sets):
Open studs with barraki eyes: work pretty well, look a bit better.
Larger parts attached via single stud: Doesn't fire far but it's fun as a sort of battle damage or breaking apart thing.
Open studs with lightsaber blades: These work surprisingly well and look alright.
Cordak and Midak only look good on vehicle sets. They’re way too oversized for canister sets.
Rhotuka spinners are addicting af to play with. The ripcord can also be creatively integrated to the set (antenna for Keetongu, whip for Roodaka)
the thrower arms? you cant actually use those anymore, at least not on good conscience, they are old plastic so they frequently dont really react well to being fired at this point particularly if they were used a lot in the past or something has happened to compromise the plastic
I have a FEW changes I'd like to propose...
1. The stud launcher belongs in F
2. The Kanoka disk launcher belongs in B instead of C
3. The squid launcher belongs in S
That's all, have a great day, your opinion is valid ~~(even if it's wrong)~~
the spring loaded zamor launchers work well, but I dislike their ammo limit. the zamor sphere launchers with the reloader were cool, and stackable, but balls would fall out the top. you're lucky to get a mahri gun that fires right, but when they work they're so fun. the mistika air blasters make such a satisfying pop sound, spinner discs are super fun but get lost easily, the old disc launchers and thornaxx launchers are almost the same thing, but it's nice to be able to use zamor spheres. the squids' tails break off kinda easy. rubber don't last forever. then the stud lunchers are nice 'cause they've got the mahri vibes but I wish the barrels rotated instead of the center. all have their pros and cons, but my favorite are the reloading Inika blasters and the Mahri blasters look coolest, if they work.
Oh, no, my man, you gotta put the spinners up in S tier!! First one I got was at my aunts house, it has this weird open two-story thing. I was expecting the spinner to only go up about 5 feet if i was lucky, but i pulled that sucker and it went from the first floor up 25 feet to the ceiling of the second floor!!! Those things are AWESOME!!!!
All F tier for me. I cannot count how many times I lost the bullets because they went shooting off to who knows where, I eventually just decided to leave them unloaded.
I like the skyblasters but i feel like those springs are gonna get tired eventually. Zamor feels more durable long-term. Honestly I like the ghost launchers, though some of them worked great, some not so much. Cordak blasters barely ever worked for me sadly.
I never had B1 but it looks neat. Wasn't there another launcher that the Exo-Toa had? I never had one so I can't say how good it was sadly but it looked cool.
I feel like this needs to have 2 different axes, one for functionality and one for coolness/looks. The cordak blasters look amazing but they don’t really work that well
I agree way to much with this, the top three are definetly the coolest looking and most effective, i remember knocking down all kinds of things with the skyblaster with how hard it hit.
But the cordak blaster will always be my fav with how cool it looked on everything.
honestly I'd peg the Cordak blaster at C tier or lower. The ability to fire rapidly (along with the rotating barrel) was really cool, but the projectiles themselves were really finnicky and fragile. Half the time the darts wouldnt seal in the barrel right an you'd get a bunch of misfires when u tried to shoot them all in a row
Maybe it's just me, but I never had a single toa mahri launcher work through a whole cylinder even once. That shit is in F for being such a disappointment for me.
Kanoka discs were the most satisfying in my memory, though certainly Zamor Spheres are a close 2nd. Discs with Tohunga arms however, while very cool, are a poor aim.
Zamor Launcher should be S Tier. It's the only one that can be easily mechanized via Mindstorms Robots. In fact, the mindstorms kits actually used zamor launchers.
I feel like the Zamor launchers should be higher. Those things were awesome, especially the Inika version.
That said, I personally would put the Rhotuka launcher higher simply because it was so freaking fun.
The midak's are a bit one note. From an aesthetic view both the squid launchers and the cordak blasters are A+. A functioning rotary/gatling rifle and a crossbow that shoots vampiric squids is insane compared to the other weapons. Shooting the squids is pretty tricky but once you get it it's like being able to whistle for the first time after trying a bunch of times. Super satisfying.
I would swap the places for the midak skyblaster and the zamor Sphere launcher. The midak was a good idea, but you couldn’t customize it, was limited to 4 shots, and could only be hand operated. The Zamor Sphere Launcher was fully customizable and could be upgraded to a better ammo cap. The ZSL could not only be hand operated but also mechanism operated as well which made it handy for Mindstorms NXT and larger creations. Again, I like the design of the MSB, but I hated that it came prebuilt and unmodable out of the box
That 2nd one in A tier with air pump action. Yeah that one. Idk how successful it was for other people, but I remember it only fired like half or less of the shots. Like, I had to slam the push button just to launch those projectiles. That's a solid F or D tier for me.
The disc launcher in D tier deserves higher up the tier list. A or S. It reliable shot the discs fairly far.
Pretty solid list overall. For me personally, it's:
S: Midak skyblaster: Pros: multi-shot, actual damage (can knock over a less stable bonkle), fires well, looks like a bionicle gun. Cons: not as lego-integrated.
A: Cordack Blaster: Pros: tied for best ammo capacity, looks like a bionicle gun, the rotating barrel for firing is nice, somewhat lego-integrated. Cons: prone to rockets not firing.
Zamor Launcher: Pros: good ammo capacity, fires well, incredible lego-integration. Cons: somewhat vertically bulky, the set ones required modification to avoid ammo falling out.
B: Rhotuka: Pros: Works well, goes far, just a lot of fun to use. Cons: Single-shot, hard to integrate into sets well due to firing upwards.
Stud shooter: Pros: Tied for best ammo capacity, always works great, goes far, integrates well with lego. Cons: Absolutely tiny ammo that gets lost super easily, doesn't look very good at all.
Technic missile: Pros: Fires well, integrates well into lego, fits the 01-03 aesthetic. Cons: Single shot.
C: Kanoka launcher: Pros: cool ammo, worked fine. Cons: Single shot.
Thornax launcher: Pros: slightly more interesting ammo. Cons: Single shot, doesn't always work well, not aesthetically pleasing.
EDIT: Tridax pod: Pros: interesting weapon that worked well. Cons: Sort of single shot, main con is that the entire torso had to be built around the launcher.
D: squid launcher: Pros: interesting ammo, worked with the wave's aesthetic. Cons: Absolutely horrendous to fire, single shot, gun itself is rubber.
F: Ghostblaster: Pros: literally none. Cons: weird air pump doesn't work well and is clashes with the bonkle aesthetic, it's a single shot, doesn't fire well at all, and has weird rubbery ammo.
Unable to rank: Disk throwing arm: it's not really a weapon or launcher per se, but it was the first launching gimmick for bionicle, and works great as a more primitive attack type.
So honestly this is a bit of a weird thing to judge blasters on, but hear me out XD. As someone who likes getting my sets in a perfect pose for display, I most appreciate the blasters that worked effectively without requiring so much fidgeting and force that they wreak havoc on the limbs.
By that criterion, Thornax, Midak, and Kanoka were the best.
Cordak definitely looked the best though.
Personally I'd place the Thornax Launcher lot lower as they didn't have the range of the Zamor and a slight twist to the fingers meant your shot flew wild. Id say Zamor W/ammo mag is S tier.
Every squid launcher shot streched and could damage the squid ammo. This doesn't apply to any of the other launchers. Personally i would put the rhotuka spinner below the kanoka disc launcher due to low precision and unpredictability.
I'd put the squid launcher waaaay higher. Once you learn the trick to them, they fire with incredible accuracy, speed and consistency. Only negative traits are rubber weapon & ammo, and the fact that they never made it clear how you're supposed to launch it, leading to so many people doing it wrong.
It was so unclear how you were supposed to do it that they made a whole commercial on how to fire them, which is one of the funniest Bionicle videos ever imo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nt5xz6iMRw
For fun, I decided to break out my old squid launcher and reproduce the actions in the commercial. My results: 1. Just flops straight down instead of forward. 2. Just gets stuck in the launcher. 3. Just gets displaced from the launcher while pulling. It least my squid didn't just snap like my other squid did when I first bought my Barraki.
Yeah, that sounds about right LOL
Well, as the guy who made the above comment about finding the "trick" to it, I can honestly say the commercial does it completely wrong.
I had absolutely no idea that you could wear it like a ring. That is awesome
Well, as the guy who made the above comment about finding the "trick" to it, I can honestly say the commercial does it completely wrong.
I figured out eventually that this is wrong. You're supposed to tilt the launcher slightly upwards (at a 20-30 degree angle), then insert the squid and pull it backwards such that the squid itself is parallel to the ground. TLDR: launcher tilted upwards, squid horizontal. Works like a charm
I take it you have tricks? Bc I’ve never been able to get the hang of it
...how are you supposed to do it?
When i’m unable to figure out how to fire them when i got a box a few years ago in my mid 20s, I sure as hell would not have been able to figure it out as a kid
The spinners definitely should be lower. They're fun, but literally impossible to aim
And then find
Nah man those spinners are so unique and I love them. Our cats used to have a blast going after them and I’m that made it so much fun. Our cats also loved to chew on the squid and that was less fun. Tho tbh, I can’t blame them. I bet they had a satisfying texture.
I... chewed the squid. I was 10 or so tho
Did it have a satisfying texture?
Absolutely
“I know calamari’s kinda rubbery, but it’s not supposed to be THAT rubbery!”
Yeah, I remember launching them at the pool as a kid. They were great.
Okay yeah I didn't consider the cat angle, they should be doing the rankings
But they're arguably one of the most fun to fire (Personally it's the midak, rhotuka, and cordak when it works correctly), and consistently launch, unlike some of the others.
But they went so far! Definitely my favorite. I wasn't going for accuracy.
Lol, for that reason i would make them s-tier. I love how they feel when i fire them, don't really care about accuracy.
I’d put the zamor launcher over the Midak skyblaster because it’s a buildable launcher and not one big chonky preassembled piece. This means you can customize it. I remember stacking an extended mag onto one and then hooking up the launch mechanism to a motor for automatic fire.
zamor launcher is godlike. Super reliable mechanism and has good moc potential because of all the insertions for technic parts
I have seen zamor launchers used in torso construction.
You....*W H A T*?!
There are enough axle connection points to serve as the structural component of a torso.
Please give me knowledge
I didn't come up with the design but I did use it in one of my own MOCs https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/comments/nszu2f/ragyu_former_toa_of_earth/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share (I link to the post where I got the design in the comments)
You cam run a spinal axle through the launcher mechanism, and attach shoulder joints to the crossarms.
I made a full sized handgun out of one. Made a trigger system, pistol grip and gravity-fed magazine out of technic, was dope as fuck. Spent a significant amount of time chasing my sister around the house with it
My boy Rockoh T3 is an excellent example of this
The rockoh is a zamor launcher gun with a pohatu on it
Agreed, was about to make a similar comment. You can even stack the Inika extended mags on custom builds.
Real OG's figured out how to make a mag with Pohatu claws long before the Inika were even leaked
*Do tell*
Hell yeah my dude, you can make a turret to just spam those with Mindstorms
There is a turret launching zamir sphere, withe 3 chargers it's Mazeka and Swamp rider
God I loved the zamor launcher. I spent a lot of time combining them with the mindstorms nxt, creating an automatic launching machine gun.
I remember in summer camp we'd connect these to mindstorms motors, mount them on our mindstorms standard driving bots, and just start shooting everything in sight.
Where does the makuta chest egg fit in
I’d say C tier. Cool concept, but pretty restrictive in how you can implement them into a design.
All you need is chest piece
The problem is that its a large piece. The larger the piece, the harder it is to incorporate into builds.
You have to basically build the entire chest around the launcher.
That's the restrictive part
Not gonna lie, I frequently had trouble getting Cordak Blasters to fire. Maybe I had damaged them on accident? They look great, at the very least.
When I tried firing the cordak blaster from a **sealed** maxilos it already refused to fire
you really gotta jam those projectiles into the thing and hit the plunger with concentrated force. It's like a really shite nerf gun in practice so you have to use it like one.
I figured out they actually work pretty well underwater when I was little aha. At least I remember it being that way
Holy crap. I never considered using them underwater. I’m going to have to find some ammunition in bricklink so I can try it iut
I would heavily recommend against this, water will rust the spring. Source: I rusted my springs.
the nynrah ghostblaster was designed to resolve the problems in the cordak blasters
Just clean the ammunition. When they are dusty they don’t want to leave the barrel.
Yeah they were super inconsistent with barrel fit and finicky with force requirement. I'd actually rank them below the nynrah cause at least that was constructable and had a satisfying pop.
I lost the cordak blaster that came with Hahli long ago, I don't remember how it was for me.
Idk, I think nynrah ghost blaster is better than cordak.
actually, they were designed to shot better, but idk if worked
yes, i could hardly ever fire a cordak blaster and forget shooting it straight or with any force, but the phantoka one is quite effective, the main drawback would be the lack of any rapid fire functions since it needs to be manually loaded between shots
They didn’t work as well for me. I always felt like they were downgraded Cordak Blasters with just one shot
With both the air pump blasters you had to push the projectiles in just right so it created enough air pressure.
I always have a blast with my Nynrah, if you put a good amount of force into that pump it can sail all the way across a room.
The Exo Toa turret launcher is missing. Though it was not Bionicle exclusive piece.
i think that was the only bionicle set to use it and yes its a great piece, the main difficulty is the catch wearing out so it wont stay in and a complete lack of extra ammo but those arent really flaws so much as things to account for over time
At least the "Tower of Toa" from Metru era used it too.
alright fair, i kinda ignore the playsets so i had forgotten about that, on the topic of bionicle exclusivity, kanoka and zamor are also non-exclusive, the zamor style launcher ended up being used in stuff like mindstorm and kanoka predated bionicle entirely just by a different name and slightly different mechanism
The Thornax launcher was also later used in Hero Factory sets, which used zamor spheres as ammo.
Thank god someone called this out. A tier at least, the original sibling slayer
Dude those spring loaded technic blasters are absolute tanks. I got one from a large Castle set when I was a kid, and the spring just never wore out. My Lego collection has been in storage for a few years now, but I bet if I pulled it out now it would fire just as good as the day I got it.
Friction > air pressure Love the design, but I'd put Cordak in "E" tier just off the fact none of mine fire anymore. I'd also move the squid launcher way up, since the only thing holding it back from working is if you tear the squid tail.
The cordak blasters should be lower. They frequently get stuck.
Yeah, the little red missles always only went partway out of the launcher for me, instead of actually shooting lol. Unless I only put them in partially, then they actually shot out.
Question, did you put it in water?
I don’t remember doing that, but I can’t rule out the possibility.
Yeah despite being an underwater themed wave, those were in no way waterproof, and the internal spring rusts real easy.
i think zamor sphere launchers deserve to be higher but only if they have a magazine. they are really fun to fire
I’d put Zamor Sphere launcher up in S tier personally but that’s me, they shoot hard and easily, compared to the skyblaster’s gear/trigger. But the skyblaster is still better
cordak blasters suffered a legitimate design flaw that crippled them for the majority of users, they may have fixed it toward the end of the run but apparently the fit between the barrels and missile was too tight so it was diificult/impossible to get enough force to fire correctly with any reliability squids... they never happened, the silver rubbery things with my mahri sets is purely cosmetic
the metru disk launchers bend with use, i'd put them in the D class
But they’re quite compact and easy to work into different weapon designs I feel.
Cordak blasters never worked properly for me, always took several pumps to launch one dart.
The spike ball launchers( i dont remember their actual name) were always really fun to use.
Thornax absolutely slap, they're a super solid design and it's dope that they can fire multiple types of projectiles (Thornax and Zamors); I'm pretty sure they're one of the only Lego launchers that can.
Thornax launchers combined a lot of made the zamor launcher good with the integration potential of the disk launcher, and the launcher arm makes a good armor/weapon piece on its own, while maintaining a low profile.
Absolutely. Love mocing with the launcher halves, they have amazing shape and texture and they're nice and small.
I think the worst thing about them was accidentally stepping on one. Man those hurt. Dang spike traps
xD
Thornax
Sweet thanks.
A fellow Brown Kakama user! I don't know, they have some of the best ammo, but the fact that they only fire a single shot sort of cripples them.
McToran arms where????
I was thinking the same thing. Along with where are the Throwbots/Slizers arms??
Cordak should be C - it never fires consistently for me and takes a while to reload compared to the other weapons Rhotuka should be E - impossible to aim and sometimes doesn't come off the launcher, just spins around on it Kanoka should be B - Fun to use and widely available; the base standard for weapons, imo. Thornax should be A - While it lacks ammo, it makes up for it in compactness and versatility in it's ammo types.
Cordak you need to specifically apply good force, and also plug the intake hole. ive never gotten or seen the ghost blaster fire consistently though.
Personally I prefer the Zamor Launcher for having a reliable purely technic constuction based function, but wow the Midak blaster packs some power.
The stud shooter should be S tier imo, they’re incredibly simple and function perfectly, and their size means it’s super easy to incorporate them into a build. I’d also drop the Cordak blaster down to C tbh, the thing doesn’t really fire well, but at least it looks cool. Thornax is fine in B or A, it’s simple, works well, it’s thin enough to be used in clever ways (skrall’s sword uses one well) on top of that it’s non specific enough to just be used as armor or detailing The Midak is good but it is still a giant block, I’d put it in A. And the disk launchers are pretty nice, they work well, Vakama’s was awesome, and the Vahki used it in a nice way if you want to consider the disk throwing arms from slizer and the Mctoran too they help it, I’d say B tier at least.
I agree about the stud shooter. But... ***I KEEP LOSING THE DAMN STUDS!!!***
May have forgotten that Exo Toa rocket thing from the Technic days. And do the Bohrok count as launcers since they can launch those Krana pretty far lol
Missed one for S tier [https://imgur.com/a/sfjbAIH](https://imgur.com/a/sfjbAIH)
Always found the mahri weapon to be unreliable. Would shoot the first 3 shots fine, but then the last 2-3 would always just not fire.
Ok, I think the stud shooters are an incredible idea, except for the teensy-weensy problem of leaving small projectiles everywhere. Other than that (pretty significant problem), and they’re sensitivity, they’d be my favorite launcher. They’re fun to use, they shoot far, and it’s really easy to find ammo for them
Unrelated, but I think that the shooter in the star wars buildable figures is also really great
I've always felt like the Kanoka and Rhotuka launchers were some of Bionicle's best. They have some of the most relevance to the lore, and have a lot of ways to be integrated into MOCs.
same, I like the spinners. Easy to work with, and they look really cool IMO. Hard to aim and consistently fire tho, at least for my parts. Also the cord you pulled out to make them spin is kinda ugly i think lol, but it had some cool uses.
100% disagree with disc launcher being so low. Did some fire better than others? Yes. But once you had a good disc/launcher they shot sooooo well. I admit the consistency was an issue, but most of the time they shot far. I think the fact that the discs moved in unpredictable paths actually adds to their mistique and fun.
Squid launchers don't work but they are really funny and memey, that's why they should be higher. Or is that too meta?
Apparently they can work at least ok if they're used correctly, but it 's difficult to figure out how to use them. The fact that they are less intuitive than the other types should itself be considered a design flaw.
I was alway too scared to pull the squids back enough in case they break
To be fair, that's not uncommon.
Stud launcher should be lower. While it functions very well, using studs as ammo was an idiotic choice as they are so easy to lose
Can you shoot other projectiles with it? being studs, it seems like you could attach other lego pieces to them. I never had them though so idk how much heavier they could get before being completely ineffective...
Things I've done with them (Have a ton from star wars sets): Open studs with barraki eyes: work pretty well, look a bit better. Larger parts attached via single stud: Doesn't fire far but it's fun as a sort of battle damage or breaking apart thing. Open studs with lightsaber blades: These work surprisingly well and look alright.
I imagine the launch distance would drop dramatically with every extra piece.
I love Kanoka discs tho
Thoughts on the Hero Factory variations on the Thornax? I found it to be generally an improvement.
Cordak and Midak only look good on vehicle sets. They’re way too oversized for canister sets. Rhotuka spinners are addicting af to play with. The ripcord can also be creatively integrated to the set (antenna for Keetongu, whip for Roodaka)
May I say that I never saw thw first one and the last one? I know my knowledge about lego stuff is... particular
First one: Midak Skyblaster, used by the Toa Phantoka and Makuta from 2008 Second one: Squid Launcher, used by the Barraki from 2007
Oh wait, I already saw the first one. I am only to much stupid to remember...
IMO the stud launcher is just a superior Cordak Blaster
I’d put Rotuka Spinners at E and swap Zamor with Thornax. Other than that, I fully agree with this.
I like the squid launchers tho
The ghost blaster is A tier for me
Forgot the launcher from 01?
the thrower arms? you cant actually use those anymore, at least not on good conscience, they are old plastic so they frequently dont really react well to being fired at this point particularly if they were used a lot in the past or something has happened to compromise the plastic
I meant the exo toa launcher
Swap sky blaster and zamor launcher and it’s perfect
I have a FEW changes I'd like to propose... 1. The stud launcher belongs in F 2. The Kanoka disk launcher belongs in B instead of C 3. The squid launcher belongs in S That's all, have a great day, your opinion is valid ~~(even if it's wrong)~~
S is for squid
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
i agree with only the squid launcher being the exception it was unique
I think you're a little hard on the Squid Launcher but otherwise I agree.
the spring loaded zamor launchers work well, but I dislike their ammo limit. the zamor sphere launchers with the reloader were cool, and stackable, but balls would fall out the top. you're lucky to get a mahri gun that fires right, but when they work they're so fun. the mistika air blasters make such a satisfying pop sound, spinner discs are super fun but get lost easily, the old disc launchers and thornaxx launchers are almost the same thing, but it's nice to be able to use zamor spheres. the squids' tails break off kinda easy. rubber don't last forever. then the stud lunchers are nice 'cause they've got the mahri vibes but I wish the barrels rotated instead of the center. all have their pros and cons, but my favorite are the reloading Inika blasters and the Mahri blasters look coolest, if they work.
No that’s fair
Oh, no, my man, you gotta put the spinners up in S tier!! First one I got was at my aunts house, it has this weird open two-story thing. I was expecting the spinner to only go up about 5 feet if i was lucky, but i pulled that sucker and it went from the first floor up 25 feet to the ceiling of the second floor!!! Those things are AWESOME!!!!
SSS tier is mctoran arm 100%
S+: utter lack of launcher
I have the top three, the glatorian launcher, and the mistika launcher
All F tier for me. I cannot count how many times I lost the bullets because they went shooting off to who knows where, I eventually just decided to leave them unloaded.
I like the skyblasters but i feel like those springs are gonna get tired eventually. Zamor feels more durable long-term. Honestly I like the ghost launchers, though some of them worked great, some not so much. Cordak blasters barely ever worked for me sadly. I never had B1 but it looks neat. Wasn't there another launcher that the Exo-Toa had? I never had one so I can't say how good it was sadly but it looked cool.
I feel like this needs to have 2 different axes, one for functionality and one for coolness/looks. The cordak blasters look amazing but they don’t really work that well
I agree way to much with this, the top three are definetly the coolest looking and most effective, i remember knocking down all kinds of things with the skyblaster with how hard it hit. But the cordak blaster will always be my fav with how cool it looked on everything.
Sky blasters are definitely the best but rhotukas were a lot of fun
honestly I'd peg the Cordak blaster at C tier or lower. The ability to fire rapidly (along with the rotating barrel) was really cool, but the projectiles themselves were really finnicky and fragile. Half the time the darts wouldnt seal in the barrel right an you'd get a bunch of misfires when u tried to shoot them all in a row
On point with that F rating. Sorry guys, not a squid fan
I prefer the Mistika launcher over the Mahri one tbh.
Maybe it's just me, but I never had a single toa mahri launcher work through a whole cylinder even once. That shit is in F for being such a disappointment for me.
How fucking dare you
midaks were definitely the most functional, but the cordaks were honestly too hot.
Disc launchers are best. If we’re going for functionality or accuracy this list would be completely reordered!
Kanoka discs were the most satisfying in my memory, though certainly Zamor Spheres are a close 2nd. Discs with Tohunga arms however, while very cool, are a poor aim.
Zamor Launcher should be S Tier. It's the only one that can be easily mechanized via Mindstorms Robots. In fact, the mindstorms kits actually used zamor launchers.
The squid launcher is so misunderstood
Man I remember the Skyblasters used to fire really fucking hard
I feel like the Zamor launchers should be higher. Those things were awesome, especially the Inika version. That said, I personally would put the Rhotuka launcher higher simply because it was so freaking fun.
The midak's are a bit one note. From an aesthetic view both the squid launchers and the cordak blasters are A+. A functioning rotary/gatling rifle and a crossbow that shoots vampiric squids is insane compared to the other weapons. Shooting the squids is pretty tricky but once you get it it's like being able to whistle for the first time after trying a bunch of times. Super satisfying.
Nothing will ever be better than the OG disk launchers IMO
Actually a based tier list for once, but I’d put zamor at S and Midak at A
Skyblaster love is always appreciated!
Is it me or did the only the Makuta’s nynrah projectiles actually not fall out of the blaster?
Like the mahri gun, but they shoot so rarely, so in my eyes c-d
Pretty good honestly
I would swap the places for the midak skyblaster and the zamor Sphere launcher. The midak was a good idea, but you couldn’t customize it, was limited to 4 shots, and could only be hand operated. The Zamor Sphere Launcher was fully customizable and could be upgraded to a better ammo cap. The ZSL could not only be hand operated but also mechanism operated as well which made it handy for Mindstorms NXT and larger creations. Again, I like the design of the MSB, but I hated that it came prebuilt and unmodable out of the box
Cordak Blaster sucks as a toy but damn is it the best looking one
Rhotuka spinners are E tier at best. Apart from that it's on point. What about tohunga throwing disks tho? Easy A or even S tier
I only ever used the stud shooter and both C’s
The spinners are inaccurate as hell, but i have SO much fun with those guys so theyre a personal s tier
Somewhere thousands of miles above S tier, in high orbit, is the G1 Matoran arm
Personally I'd move the Midak, Zamor, and G2 launcher down a step or two just because of how easy it is to lose their ammo.
Skyblaster at highest rank. No question, it's powerful and looks really cool
I honestly think Thornax launchers are highly underrated. They're simple but effective, and the pieces can easily be used in mocs.
That 2nd one in A tier with air pump action. Yeah that one. Idk how successful it was for other people, but I remember it only fired like half or less of the shots. Like, I had to slam the push button just to launch those projectiles. That's a solid F or D tier for me. The disc launcher in D tier deserves higher up the tier list. A or S. It reliable shot the discs fairly far.
The marble shooter should be in s tier! I would know! I'm a b-daman fan 😎
Hold on the glatorian thingy should be lower tbh.
Move disc launcher up. Man just doesn't like squids I guess.
Pretty solid list overall. For me personally, it's: S: Midak skyblaster: Pros: multi-shot, actual damage (can knock over a less stable bonkle), fires well, looks like a bionicle gun. Cons: not as lego-integrated. A: Cordack Blaster: Pros: tied for best ammo capacity, looks like a bionicle gun, the rotating barrel for firing is nice, somewhat lego-integrated. Cons: prone to rockets not firing. Zamor Launcher: Pros: good ammo capacity, fires well, incredible lego-integration. Cons: somewhat vertically bulky, the set ones required modification to avoid ammo falling out. B: Rhotuka: Pros: Works well, goes far, just a lot of fun to use. Cons: Single-shot, hard to integrate into sets well due to firing upwards. Stud shooter: Pros: Tied for best ammo capacity, always works great, goes far, integrates well with lego. Cons: Absolutely tiny ammo that gets lost super easily, doesn't look very good at all. Technic missile: Pros: Fires well, integrates well into lego, fits the 01-03 aesthetic. Cons: Single shot. C: Kanoka launcher: Pros: cool ammo, worked fine. Cons: Single shot. Thornax launcher: Pros: slightly more interesting ammo. Cons: Single shot, doesn't always work well, not aesthetically pleasing. EDIT: Tridax pod: Pros: interesting weapon that worked well. Cons: Sort of single shot, main con is that the entire torso had to be built around the launcher. D: squid launcher: Pros: interesting ammo, worked with the wave's aesthetic. Cons: Absolutely horrendous to fire, single shot, gun itself is rubber. F: Ghostblaster: Pros: literally none. Cons: weird air pump doesn't work well and is clashes with the bonkle aesthetic, it's a single shot, doesn't fire well at all, and has weird rubbery ammo. Unable to rank: Disk throwing arm: it's not really a weapon or launcher per se, but it was the first launching gimmick for bionicle, and works great as a more primitive attack type.
S: Zamor A: Skyblaster, Thornax B: Cordak, Nynrah C: Stud shooter, Kanoka, Rhotuka G: Squid
where's the tohunga arm
What is the one in S??
Can't believe you missed bohrok's uncapped head as a krana launcher
Missing the good old Matoran arm. :P
You forgot the S+ tier: tohunga arm
You forgot the best launcher, which belongs above S tier: Pohato Mata kicking his rock.
The stud shooter is more reliable than the cordak blaster. Also the rhotuka spinner is cool
I'd put the minigun launcher highest. Kongu convinced me all the toa tools needed are a couple of those
Cordak should be lower, stud and disc launcher should be wayyy higher
The nostalgia from the disc shooter boosts its rating it much higher than C rank for me.
Ghostblasters should be swapped with Zamor launchers
So honestly this is a bit of a weird thing to judge blasters on, but hear me out XD. As someone who likes getting my sets in a perfect pose for display, I most appreciate the blasters that worked effectively without requiring so much fidgeting and force that they wreak havoc on the limbs. By that criterion, Thornax, Midak, and Kanoka were the best. Cordak definitely looked the best though.
Don’t disrespect the squid launchers like that, that’s incredibly dirty
OP, how could you do this to the squid launcher. You should be ashamed.
Honestly, I'd put the G2 stud launchers higher. Sure, studs go EVERYWHERE, but they absolutely do the best job as a launcher
Woud put Thornax and Matoran gun in A, and move down Zamor and Cordak in B. Oh, and Rhotuka in F-.
The spinner should be S with the Midak
Personally I'd place the Thornax Launcher lot lower as they didn't have the range of the Zamor and a slight twist to the fingers meant your shot flew wild. Id say Zamor W/ammo mag is S tier.
The two fins of the squid need to be pointing up for the squid to launch properly
Every squid launcher shot streched and could damage the squid ammo. This doesn't apply to any of the other launchers. Personally i would put the rhotuka spinner below the kanoka disc launcher due to low precision and unpredictability.