Dragon claw

Dragon claws are a pair of claws made of dragon metal. They were released on the 26th of November 2008, along with the While Guthix Sleeps quest. It is a two-handed weapon that requires an Attack level of 60 in order to wield them. Dragon claws may be obtained as a drop from tormented demons, traded from another player or bought from the Grand Exchange. Tormented demons can only be killed during and after While Guthix Sleeps. Completing the quest is not a prerequisite to wielding them.

These claws feature a special attack, "Slice and Dice", which uses 50% of the special attack bar and hits an enemy four times with 1 special attack. When two special attacks are used back-to-back, a player can hit eight times in two attacks, which is similar to the dragon dagger's special attack, but much faster. The efficiency of the special attack is especially noticeable in Kuradal's dungeon, where the use of the ferocious ring adds +40 life points to successful hits of the special attack. Under perfect conditions, it is possible to hit over 1297 (about 608-324-182-183) with one special attack.

Dragon claws, when first released, started in the Grand Exchange at 150,000 coins, but the high demand has pushed them up to high prices (at tens of millions). With the release of the dragon claws, the price of the dragon dagger dropped. This may be a result of dragon claws outdoing dragon daggers in strength bonus (a +56 bonus compared to the +40 of the dragon dagger), matching them in speed, and arguably having a more powerful special attack (aided by that the claws are far more accurate due to the bonuses).

However, dragon claws are two-handed, which means that players cannot use a shield or defender while wielding them (though they provide some defence bonus). Using a rune defender or dragon defender along with the dragon dagger provides more defence and attack bonuses than the dragon claws. Using a dragon dagger and a dragonfire shield provides more defence than that of the dragon claws. The right claw is used for slash attacks, while the left one is used for the stabbing. Both claws are used during the special attack.

Dragon claws are a popular item to lend or borrow, as most lack the money to buy them. The price at which they are lent varies around 30,000 coins per hour, sometimes going to as high as 50,000 per hour. 24 hour lends range from 300,000 to 500,000 coins. However, this is solely at the discretion of the lender.

With the Ancient Curse prayers, the threat of dragon claws is much less dangerous as a Sap spirit or Leech special attack may render a back-to-back special impossible. However, the Ancient Curse prayers also introduced Turmoil, greatly increasing killing potential.

Dropping monsters

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Slice and Dice Sequences
The Slice and Dice special is four very quick attacks performed in two pairs(not at once as most believe), having a potential to inflict a large amount of damage.

The special attack sequence:


 * First, a normal attack, which usually deals a high amount of damage; then half of that first hit, and then finally two attacks that add up to the second hit. For example, 300-150-70-80.
 * If the first hit misses and the second one hits, the 3rd and 4th hits will each deal half of the damage of the second hit. For example, 0-300-150-150.
 * If the first two attacks hit 0-0, the 3rd and 4th will perform as regular hits. For example, 0-0-300-300. However, the last 2 hits can only be up to 75% of your max hit.
 * If the claws hit 3 initial zeros, the last hit (if it hits) will have a 50% damage boost; e.g.: 0-0-0-450.
 * If the first three attacks fail, and the fourth attack also "fails", the fourth attack almost always hits a low number instead of a 0; approximately between 1 and 7 lifepoints. A player with protect from melee, divine/elysian shield, 90+ defence, or with the Staff of Light special attack active can sometimes completely defend against dragon claws.

The reason many players view this weapon to be overpowered is because of its potential to hit 2x normal damage, compared to the Armadyl godsword's 1.25x damage. It also has 4 different sequence hits, and almost never completely misses, making its special attack one of the most reliable in the game. However, some believe that this power is justified by the claws' price, and the financial risk of losing them in battle.

The special attack is also the reason the claws are so sought after on God Wars Dungeon teams. Many players will find that teams on the forums are looking exclusively for people who have dragon claws to special with.

Market
Since their release with a starting price of 150,000 coins, the price of dragon claws has risen dramatically by one of the highest percentage in the history of the Grand Exchange by player-demand only (not including Jagex's own price modifications of objects) and without including event items such as partyhats and santa hats. Players wanted them badly and began to offer up to 80 million coins for them, causing prices to rise. In mid May, their price fell from 20M to about 16M. Due to players realising this and buying them in large amounts, the prices have started to go back up again.

After just 30 days following their release, dragon claws had risen by 2,142%, gaining a total of more than 6 million coins. As of the 31st of January, 2009, the Grand Exchange indicated a mid price of 38 million for claws, meaning they have risen 25,351% from their initial price. From there, the price of dragon claws would slowly decrease.

On the 15th of July 2009, Jagex introduced an update to PvP worlds and Bounty Hunter Worlds in which players were automatically skulled on entering the world and the Protect Item prayer was disabled. Dragon claws, a popular item used by one-item players started to see a rapid drop in price along with other one-item weapons such as the Armadyl godsword and Saradomin sword. The dragon claws suffered a 1.2 million gold loss the day after the update.

On the 17th of July 2009, Jagex released Bounty +1 worlds, which allowed players to keep one item on death. The demand soon shot up with players buying for well above maximum price.

Since the introduction of Korasi's sword the value of Dragon Claws has dropped, due to the sword being a much cheaper PvP weapon, being easy to re-buy, the special attack is magic-based and goes through melee armour's soak bonuses, and being able to deal a similar amount of damage, but with higher accuracy.

On the 21st of October 2011, Jagex announced an update that would take place 1 week later, a day they claim will be "Bot-Nuking Day". They announced that they are going to release an update that will render 98% of bots within Runescape ineffective. The street price of a set of Dragon Claws is reaching upwards of 20m, and items all across the specrum have increased dramatically in price and is expected to rise steadily through the update.

Trivia

 * On the 20th of October 2009, Jagex included a sound effect for the dragon claw's special attack.
 * Dragon Claws are "worn" instead of wielded.
 * If a player switches weapons before the dragon special attack finishes, a glitch occurs in which the new weapon is in the players hands while the player is still doing the 'Slice and Dice' hand movements.

Dragon claws

Dragon claws Dragon claws Dragon claws