If you ' re going to mod , get the stryfe . Screw stock performance , but if you ' re going to mod it ' s 110 % worth it . Revup times are irrelevant as long as you have decent motors and a decent battery , since you can pretty much fire and rev at the same time , with the advantage of faster followup shots . Elite EAT Alpha Trooper is a decent short term blaster , and especially if you plan to mod in the future you may as well get a Retaliator and prep for a pump grip . Retaliator offers better performance , durability , and reliability as long as your wallet gives consent , and overall a better long term investment . Some notes Forcing a slower rate of fire on yourself isn ' t a pro at all , if you ' re a responsible player you should be able to manage yourself properly . Elite EAT doesn ' t necessarily have better performance out of the box , and in fact , can have more dart feeding issues than a Stryfe . I ' m not hating on Elite EATs at all , in fact I ' m rather fond of mine . However , fondness and nostalgia is the only reason to choose an Elite EAT over a Retaliator . You can factor price , however on any long term modding project a blaster will generally cost a lot anyway . TLDR Get a Stryfe if you want flywheels or a Retaliator for springies . Just hang in there until you ' re able to mod and you won ' t regret it .