Is the Nerf Warden really that bad?

The Nerf Warden DB-8 has gotten a pretty bad reputation due to the number of broken units received and tested. But it's been over a year since the Warden was released in the initial Elite 2.0 lineup...is it fixed? Did anything change? I rolled the dice and bought a couple to see for myself.

Bearet stickers from SilverFoxIndustries!
Beret patches from FoamBlast!
Beret stickers from Out of Darts!

Music from Epidemic Sound

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[WalcomS]

Should be noted that Hasbro literally had me ship my warden back to them so they could R&D it. I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

[justajolt]

For the price of a Warden, buy two Fang QS-4s and duct tape them together. Hand held shotgun custardy goodness. Or blue goodness.

[rokushou]

The warden is the optimal blaster for roleplaying Reaper from Overwatch. Since you throw them away to reload, the warden goes exactly where it belongs: in the trash.

[FamilyFoamsport]

The rail tooth is a cheaper version than what I've seen on most stuff - they stopped putting the spring under them at some point, but having it just be part of the shell is a step beyond, wow.
A bunch of people have been claiming that the warden design was quietly modified after all the early breakage, but nobody has opened one up and compared it with an early one. I'd love to see someone settle that question.

[lkhdmrtn]

The sharp front of the Warden is a design feature. You're supposed to use it as a melee.

[GresSimJa]

Hasbro tends to fix genuinely flawed models that break too quickly. They fixed the Apollo to have metal gears and an unjamming switch, since somehow jamming it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Meanwhile, using that same logic to fix the Warden would be hypocritical at best, seeing the whole line of Elite 2.0...

[peter_samer]

You can say the warden is giving you a rough cut.

[HexagonThatReallyLikesVinegar]

Since Minecraft and Nerf are now together, they should make a Warden Warden.

[cringeycronk]

The Warden has tasted blood and now craves more, the only way to defend yourself …

The WALMART THUNDER TANK!

[BaconCheesesteak]

It wouldn't surprise me if Hasbro made changes mid-production run to fix the Warden.

What I want to know is if it was a deliberate decision to choose colors for Elite 2.0 that make them look so similar to all those Blaze Storm knockoffs.

[pastiesandagstring]

these are totally just designed with the same quality and tactics as the alpha strike line but with a premium price. Aside from the piss poor quality I honestly thought this whole line was ugly. I hated the colors and the redesigns of virtually every blaster.

[TooSkramz]

I know this perspective is based on location/availability, but my biggest problem with Elite 2.0 isn't even the quality, because that ship has long sailed; it's simply that they offer nothing new for far too much money vs. thrift store originals. I know we can't all run out and grab $2 Roughcuts, but, I don't know if anything really justifies buying Elite 2.0 off the shelf. The Turbine is at least compelling, but I can't bring myself to experiment with my wallet even that much.

[scottbionicnerf]

I guess I've been a Mechanic all my life. I would take my toys apart, oil them to make things work better, sand off sharp edges and put them back together, then the neighbors would want me to work on their toys after they borrowed mine. My planes would fly farther or do tricks, like loops, or barrel rolls, because I cut and modified the stabilators, flaps, and ailerons to make them functional. That's a major reason for me getting into this hobby. There's a good deal of reward in fixing broken toy and returning it to it's grateful owner. I like the styling and details of all Elite2.0(or 2.N0!, whichever you prefer.). And, was especially attracted to the more edgy, blocky styling of the Elite2.0 Warden. Now you Sir have made me want to buy this blaster, realizing full well Nerf's intent was to make another 'Maverick' that could occupy store shelves for the few years becoming a little cashcow.

[Justinross_Payawal]

I got a Warden, and my experience with it was not too bad. Mine didn't break.

And I wonder if the internals of the 2021 has any revisions to the 2020 version, if someone has bought it in 2020 and bought another one in 2021 to compare the internals.

Update from Jan 15, 2022: My Warden finally broke, it started to not fully armed and it started ceasing up. And at least it last longer than my Icon Magstrike that I previously had, where 1 day later, I popped the air bladder from pumping it too fast.

Update from Feb 20, 2022: I'm able to fix my Warden, and it was a pain to open, but I'm able to fix it, the clips from the priming handle had solvent weld, but that didn't stop me from opening it, and I finally fixed it.

[smittzero]

At least the thing works now, but that QC is still unacceptable for the "#1 Blaster Brand". The only Elite 2.0 blaster I'm remotely interested in is the Eaglepoint, and I'm even on the fence about that.

[Midnight]

I’ve heard elite 2.0 ammo is actually worse than elite ammo because it is more sensitive. Also on my BattleCamo Roughcut I have never been able to consistently single fire. However it is broken now (it broke randomly after a few months of light use).

[maple]

"Elite 2.0 is pretty well and tight... Solvent shut"
_LAUGHS IN EAGLEPOINT_

[marshmelon]

my cousin did have his fail first day, and I was confused when I saw it fire 3 or 4 darts with one trigger pull! I wondered how it worked, and it really was a massive failure!

[ziploc]

I honestly thought they'd withdrawn the Warden, as I've seen a Roughcut reskin on the shelves in 20201. If you have a Roughcut already I see no reason to buy this, unless you have to in order to review one..
As far as I know Habro never admitted there was anything wrong with this blaster, but I bet it ruined a lot of kids' Christmasses in 2020, so now they can't admit to any fix, if there has been one.

[rafakisaa]

Definition for nerf warden:
Super
High
Intelligent
Theft