Claw
| Claw | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Melee Weapon |
| Weapon | Axe |
| Headshot | +125% |
| Armor Pen | 25% |
The Claw is a heavy throwing axe. It hits hard both in the hand and in flight. A well-placed throw can remove a large part of an enemy's Health. It swings more slowly than a knife and costs more Stamina, but each hit does more damage. The Claw is the heavy option for a Cool build that fights with throwables. Its Iconic variant, Claw x-MOD2, waits in Dogtown for players with Phantom Liberty. The Claw is sold by melee weapon vendors and looted from enemies, so it is available from early in the game.
Combat
The Claw is a throwable axe. In melee, it chops slowly but hard. When thrown, it flies at a target and deals a lot of damage. It then needs a short recovery time before it can be thrown again. A thrown headshot is the best way to start a fight with it.
Axes get the same stealth bonus as knives. Killer Instinct adds damage with axes outside of combat. It also shows the damage the next hit will deal. A Claw thrown at an unaware enemy can end the fight before it starts.
The heavier swing makes it harder to land many quick hits in a row than with a knife. The Claw works best as a hard-hitting throw followed by a few close hits.
How to Get Claw Guide
- Buy the Claw from a melee weapon vendor, such as the shop in West Wind Estate.
- Loot it from enemies who carry one.
Claw Map Location
The map shows the melee weapon vendor in West Wind Estate.
Claw map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Compatible Mods
8 weapon mods are compatible with Claw.
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Airstrike | 
|
Raises crit chance and crit damage for midair attacks |
| Boomerang | 
|
A headshot kill with a thrown weapon can return it at once |
| Cyclone | 
|
A sprint attack opens unlimited combos with stacking attack speed |
| Javelin | 
|
More armor penetration with melee, doubled on throws |
| Pax | 
|
Makes the weapon non-lethal, more damage outside combat |
| Severance | 
|
Hits to the head or limbs of a weakened enemy can dismember and kill |
| Silencio | 
|
More crit chance and crit damage when crouched and undetected |
| Zero-G | 
|
More effective range, thrown weapons fly straight |
Crafting Spec
The spec lets V craft Claw in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
The table shows what crafting Claw costs at each tier.
| Tier | Components |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 30 Tier 1 components |
| Tier 2 | 30 Tier 2 components |
| Tier 3 | 30 Tier 3 components |
| Tier 4 | 30 Tier 4 components |
| Tier 5 | 30 Tier 5 components |
Upgrades
Standard weapons like the Claw are improved by crafting or buying a higher tier. With its crafting spec and enough crafting components, V can craft the axe at a higher quality.
Character Builds
Throwable weapons use the Cool tree. Scorpion Sting cuts recovery time for throwables. Its crits, headshots and weak spot hits also apply Poison. Juggler cuts recovery further and adds headshot damage. It also resets throwable cooldowns after a headshot, crit or Poison kill. Pay It Forward boosts the first melee hit after pulling a thrown axe out of an enemy. It works well when a throw is followed by a chop. Parasite restores Health on crits and headshots with thrown weapons. Style Over Substance guarantees crits on throws made while crouch-sprinting, sliding, dodging or dashing. Finisher: Act Of Mercy adds a throwable finisher that heals V.
For cyberware, Handle Wrap raises crit chance with throwables after equipping or throwing one. Stabber adds crit chance with blades and throwables. The Isometric Stabilizer cuts the Stamina cost of all attacks, which helps with the axe's heavier swings.
The Claw's mod slots take throwable and melee mods. Boomerang gives a chance for the axe to return at once after a headshot kill with a throw. Silencio adds crit chance and crit damage while crouched and undetected. Severance gives a chance to dismember and kill an enemy below half Health with hits to the head or limbs.
Select a Build
The build opens from stealth and removes a few targets before the fight starts. Headshots and crits with thrown knives bring the knife back to hand through Juggler. When the character is detected, the Sandevistan or Kerenzikov slows time to finish the enemies who spotted it.
Attributes: Body 18, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 3, Cool 20.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Feline Footwork | 
|
Cool 4 | Faster and safer while crouched |
| Killer Instinct | 
|
Cool 4 | More damage with knives, axes and silenced guns before combat |
| Gag Order | 
|
Cool 4 | A quick hit after being spotted delays detection by others |
| Scorpion Sting | 
|
Cool 9 | Thrown crits and headshots apply Poison |
| Neurotoxin | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison also blinds and stops sprinting |
| Parasite | 
|
Cool 9 | Health back from thrown crits and headshots |
| Accelerated Toxin Absorption | 
|
Cool 9 | Strong attacks and throws on poisoned enemies deal a burst of Poison |
| Corrosion | 
|
Cool 9 | Poison works on mechs, robots, drones and turrets |
| Ninjutsu | 
|
Cool 15 | Sprint while crouched |
| Creeping Death | 
|
Cool 15 | Health, Stamina and speed from kills while hidden |
| Vanishing Act | 
|
Cool 15 | Optical Camo turns on while crouch-sprinting |
| Juggler | 
|
Cool 15 | Thrown headshots and crits return the weapon at once |
| Sleight Of Hand | 
|
Cool 15 | Crit Damage stacks each time Juggler triggers |
| Finisher: Act Of Mercy | 
|
Cool 15 | A thrown weapon Finisher that heals |
| Pay It Forward | 
|
Cool 15 | Big melee hit after picking up a thrown blade |
| Pounce | 
|
Cool 15 | Finishers from range after a throw |
| Style Over Substance | 
|
Cool 20 | Guaranteed crits when throwing on the move |
| Slippery | 
|
Reflexes 4 | Harder to hit while moving fast |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Unlocks the Dash and makes it cheaper |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Ambidextrous | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | A second Hands cyberware slot |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mamba | 
|
Circulatory System | More damage against poisoned enemies |
| Kerenzikov Boost System | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Stronger Kerenzikov with free shooting Stamina |
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More damage against drones, robots and mechs |
| Handle Wrap | 
|
Hands | More crit chance with throwables |
| Shock Absorber | 
|
Hands | Less recoil |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Defenzikov | 
|
Integumentary System | Mitigation after Kerenzikov ends |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| Stabber | 
|
Nervous System | More crit chance with Blades and throwables |
| Militech Apogee Sandevistan | Operating System | Slows time by 85% with crit bonuses | |
| Dense Marrow | 
|
Skeleton | More melee damage |
| Spring Joints | 
|
Skeleton | Stronger Mitigation |
| Name | Image | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-G | 
|
Longer throws on a straight path |
Lore
The Claw's in-game line is a warning: it deals heavy damage, but it takes serious brawn to wield. Melee shops stock it alongside knives and clubs, and Night City's thugs carry it too.
Notes
- Claw x-MOD2, an Iconic variant with extra mod slots, sits on top of the Heavy Hearts club in Dogtown.
Weapon Categories
All Melee Weapons
Every melee weapon is listed below. The Iconic weapons come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agaou | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | Dogtown |
| BFC 9000 | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Baby Boomer | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Baseball Bat x-MOD2 | 
|
Two-Handed Club | Dogtown | ||
| Black Unicorn | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Blue Fang | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands South | |
| Butcher's Cleaver | 
|
Knife | 25% | Coastview | |
| Byakko | 
|
Katana | 25% | Little China | |
| Caretaker's Spade | 
|
Hammer | 25% | Corpo Plaza | |
| Claw x-MOD2 | 
|
Axe | |||
| Cocktail Stick | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Cottonmouth | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | Japantown | |
| Crowbar | 
|
One-Handed Club | |||
| Cut-o-Matic x-MOD2 | 
|
Chainsword | Dogtown | ||
| Errata | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arroyo | |
| Fang | 
|
Knife | +50% | ||
| Gold-Plated Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | North Oak | |
| Gwynbleidd | 
|
Sword | |||
| Headhunter | 
|
Knife | +150% | West Wind Estate | |
| Jinchu-Maru | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Murphy's Law | 
|
One-handed Club | 50% | Dogtown | |
| Nehan | 
|
Knife | +150% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Sasquatch's Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 75% | Coastview | |
| Satori | 
|
Katana | 25% | Arasaka Waterfront | |
| Scalpel | 
|
Katana | 25% | Northside | |
| Sir John Phallustiff | 
|
Blunt | 25% | Kabuki | |
| Stinger | 
|
Knife | +150% | Badlands East | |
| Tinker Bell | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | Badlands East | |
| Tsumetogi | 
|
Katana | 25% | Japantown | |
| Volkodav | 
|
Machete | 25% | Dogtown |
Standard Melee Weapons
| Name | Image | Weapon | Headshot | Armor Pen | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball Bat | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Chef's Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Claw | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% | |
| Cut-O-Matic | 
|
Chainsword | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Alpha | 
|
One-Handed Club | Rancho Coronado | ||
| Electric Baton Beta | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Electric Baton Gamma | 
|
One-Handed Club | 50% | ||
| Hammer | 
|
Hammer | 25% | ||
| Kaiken | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Kanabo | 
|
Two-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Katana | 
|
Katana | 25% | ||
| Knife | 
|
Knife | +200% | ||
| Kukri | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Machete | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Neurotoxin Knife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Punknife | 
|
Knife | +150% | ||
| Razor | 
|
Machete | 25% | ||
| Steel Pipe | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tire Iron | 
|
One-Handed Club | 25% | ||
| Tomahawk | 
|
Axe | +125% | 25% |