As a souls veteran with over 1000 hours across FromSoftware‘s games, I‘ve come to love the claw weapon class in Elden Ring. At first glance, claws may seem like a challenge run gimmick. Tiny blades strapped to your hands? No range or guard ability? Are you crazy?!
While it‘s true claws require a high risk, high reward playstyle, they reward your bravery with some of the most shred-tastic DPS in the game!
In this guide, I‘ll share my deep knowledge about claw movesets, skills, locations, and combat strategies so you can unleash bleeding hell upon thy foes!
Why Use Claws?
Before covering top claws, let‘s discuss why you should consider equipping these fistfuls of fury:
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Rapid, Punishing Strikes – Claws strike quickly, allowing you to punish openings with repeated hits. Enemies have little time to counter as you hack away.
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Excellent Mobility – Claws commonly have Quickstep or Bloodhound Step skills, giving you stellar movement in combat. Dodge gracefully while staying on your target!
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Bleed Buildup – Many claws inflict hemorrhaging wounds, shredding enemy HP with blood loss. Proccing bleed is deeply satisfying.
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Crit Damage – With daggers attached to your hands, claws dish out visceral amounts of riposte and backstab damage.
Now let‘s dive into the best claws Elden Ring offers flexible shinobis!
Top 4 Claws Ranked
I‘ve extensively playtested every claw, and these 4 stand out in terms of damage, skills, sustainability, and obtainability. They cover multiple styles, so choose what suits your build!
#1 Hookclaws
Damage:
Physical: 93
Magic: 0
Fire: 0
Holy: 0
Critical: 110
Skills: Quickstep
The Hookclaws are easily obtained early claws that can carry you through much of the game. Their bleeding rapid slashes combined with the Quickstep skill provide stellar mobility and damage.
Additionally, they have a whopping 40% bleed buildup per hit. Just 3-4 combos will hemorrhage enemies, chunking bosses for significant HP.
Thanks to excellent Dexterity scaling, your damage compounds quickly as you level up. Hookclaws remain relevant even in end game. For raw speed and bleeding wrath, Hookclaws are #1!
Location: Dropped by corpse in Stormveil Castle cellar
Scales With: Dexterity
# 2 Bloodhound Claws
Damage:
Physical: 99
Magic: 0
Fire: 0
Holy: 0
Critical: 110
Skills: Bloodhound Step
With curved hand blades modeled after wolverine claws, the Bloodhound Claws offer unique advantages:
- Nullifies enemy damage reduction from heavy armor
- Better Strength/Dexterity scaling than standard claws
- Built in Bloodhound Step for teleporting mobility
By negating physical resistance, you can shear through heavily armored Crucible Knights, Giants, etc unhindered.
Plus, quick step lets you zip behind foes and erase chunks of health. If you want dexterous claws with magic tricks, Bloodhound Claws have your back!
Location: Dropped by Bloodhound Knight in Volcano Manor
Scales With: Dexterity/Strength
#3 Raptor Talons
Damage:
Physical: 86
Magic: 0
Fire: 0
Holy: 0
Critical 110
Skills: Quickstep
Don‘t be fooled by their low base damage. Dual-wielded Raptor Talons gain unique leaping charge attacks for enhanced mobility.
Charging a strong attack rockets you forward aggressively while standard charges let you evade backwards. You can artfully stick to enemies then quickly escape.
Their Dexterity scaling also amplifies damage significantly as you level. Plus, the Quickstep skill gives even more movement options to hunt your prey.
For unparalleled mobility and chasing down cowardly mages, Raptor Talons are a thrill ride!
Location: Sage‘s Cave behind multiple illusory walls
Scales With: Dexterity/Strength
#4 Venomous Fangs
Damage:
Physical: 97
Magic: 0
Fire: 0
Holy: 0
Critical: 110
Skills: Quickstep
These curved claws shaped like fangs drip with deadly poison buildup (50 per hit!). They integrate perfectly into poison/dexterity builds.
As you relentlessly hack away, enemies will succumb to immense toxins draining their health. Bosses with huge HP bars feel that pain quickly.
The Venomous Fangs offer a slow-burning,Expert style of play. Inflict Initial claw damage while poisoning gradually kills them. Excellent for patient assassins!
Location: Abandoned Cave in Caelid behind Giant Poison Flower
Scales With: Dexterity
And there you have it! The 4 best claws ranked for attributes and combat effectiveness. Now let‘s get into some key claw strategies:
Claw Combat Tips:
Aggressively Stick To Targets
Claws lack range and guarding capability. But their mobility lets you dance around enemies if you aggressively stay close.
Repeatedly dodge/Quickstep through attacks while countering with your own flurries during openings. With proper timing, enemies won‘t even be able to swing at you!
Blood Loss / Poison Infusions
Most claws naturally induce bleeding or poisoning. But infusing them with Blood/Poison Ashes boosts this massively.
Occult infusion also works very well by scaling damage with Arcane to trigger hemorrhaging.
This emphasis makes claws DEADLY status dealers. Proc effects rapidly spell certain doom.
Power Stance For Additional Hits
Claws uniquely allow "power stanced" dual wielding movesets compared to fist weapons. This lets you double status buildups per combo.
Dual wielding also unlocks the Raptor Talons‘ leaping charges for tricksy mobility. More attacks mean more bleed!
Ambush To Initiate
Stealthily sneaking up on enemies then unleashing a flurry of attacks is extremely viable with claws. The initial damage & status effects can decisively turn battles in your favor.
Make sure to conceal your approach then pounce!
Recommended Stats:
- Vigor – 30-40 (survivability is key with claws‘ high-risk style)
- Dexterity – 30-80 (massively boosts claw damage via scaling)
- Arcane – 20-50 (increases bleed/poison buildups)
And there you have it – everything you need to transform into a whirling dervish of lacerating claws! I hope this guide gets you excited to try these unique and lethal weapons. Let me know what loadouts work best for you or if you have any other questions! I‘m always seeking the next big challenge run.
You can find me on Steam here or on Xbox at this profile. Stay undiscovered in the shadows, my friends!
