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. They are two-handed weapons, and players require an Attack level of 60 in order to wield them. They may be obtained as a drop from tormented demons or 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 specials are used back-to-back, a player can hit eight times in two attacks, which is similar to the dragon dagger's special, 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.

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 several 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 potent 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 (they provide some defence bonus though). 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.

Note: 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.

Dropping monsters

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Slice and Dice Sequences
The Slice and Dice special is four very quick attacks performed at once, 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 that damage. 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.
 * 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 due to the claws' price.

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 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.

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-itemers started to see a rapid drop in price along with other one-itemer 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 their value has dropped, due to it being a much cheaper pvp weapon, being easy to re-buy, the spec is magic-based and goes through melee armour's soak bonuses, and being able to deal a similar amount of damage.

Trivia

 * On the 20th of October 2009, Jagex included a sound effect for the dragon claw's special attack.

Dragon claws

Dragon claws Dragon claws Dragon claws